


Hold My Hand, I'll Guide You Home

by IgarashiSora



Series: What If? [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Adorable Nico di Angelo, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cute Nico, Eventual Percabeth, Family, Family Fluff, Flower Crowns, Fluff, Gen, Gratuitous googled Italian, Happy Nico, I needed an excuse, Light Romance, Nico Feels, Persephone is a good stepmom, Wish Fulfillment, adorable nico is adorable, at least in a few chapters, because I fucking can, don't @ me lmao, eventual ships in general, except for Hera that awful bitch, i needed small cute Nico okay, loving family, no evil stepmoms here, only partially canon compliant, sweet angel baby, sweet baby nico, tags will be updated as series continues, this was made years ago, title may change, wholesome as fuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2018-11-29 23:42:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 23,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11451507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IgarashiSora/pseuds/IgarashiSora
Summary: (Canon divergence.) Hades never sent his kids to Westover. After decades of worry, the lord of the Underworld decides the safest place for his children to be is by his side.





	1. Coming Home (Prologue)

**Author's Note:**

> Essentially a retelling of the Percy Jackson series, if Nico and Bianca were brought from the Casino to the Underworld. As such, certain things (especially in the Heroes of Olympus and Titan's Curse) will be altered significantly, and things like quests and ships will be altered due to their impracticality in light of the plot change. Most ships will survive, some won't. It's not favoritism, just the fact that not all will make sense with the way the story diverges from the original. Also, this will probably be done in snippets originally. Sorry if any characters are OOC, I tried. This idea came when I first read the Last Olympian and was unsatisfied. Of course, I've altered some things so it can work with the Heroes of Olympus. Please enjoy!

Hades growled as he paced around his office. How could they? _How could they?_ They swore an _oath._ And what do they do? Break it. _Both of them._ First it was Zeus- which pissed him off, that _hypocrite_ \- but while that angered him to no end, he at least found solace in the idea that it was _Zeus_ , and that that was to be expected of him, and that at least Poseidon knew better. But no. _No._

They _both_ broke the oath, with little remorse- with little _thought_ about the fact that there was only _one_ of them who kept his word, and that _he_ was the only one who didn't want to follow through in the first place. He wanted to believe that they weren't the type to do this, that this was out of character for them but it _wasn't_. It was so, _so terribly_ expected of them, which if anything made him feel even worse.

Fine. If they wanted to break some rules, then they could break some rules. Hades was just going to join them, was all.

For a moment, he thought about his plan. He was only going to get them back, was only going to send them on their way into the outside world- probably to some obscure school where some satyr could find them- but he hesitated.

No. _No,_ that wasn't good enough. Sending Furies to do his bidding, shipping his children off without their awareness of the situation- that wasn't good enough. He wanted to know them, like he would've before Maria's death. Mortal children were fragile, after all. Their lives were also terribly, terribly short.

He wants to make up for lost time.

Forget "Ancient Law", his brothers broke an oath sworn on the _River Styx_ \- if they could risk that, he could risk this. Fates help him when Zeus finds out. Hell, Fates help him with this _plan._ There wasn't a single god in existence who did this for their mortal child, not a single one- especially not for _two_. But he had to try.

He knew he promised Maria, knew what she wanted for their children, but that was before everything else. That was before she died. Now, things had to be different. He needed his kids safe, and "safe" was not in the living world, where he was a step above powerless, where his brothers could watch them and scheme.

No, safe was down here, in the Underworld, with _him_ \- where his word was law, where _he_ was all-powerful.

Hades straightened his back as he came to a final decision. Yes, he knew what he had to do. He was going to go there, _himself_ \- and he was going to bring his kids back with him.

He began to glow in his true, divine form, disappearing from his palace and reappearing in front of a tall building hidden between two run-down offices. He made sure to appear like a tall, imposing mortal man in a black suit before entering the Lotus Casino.

His children were coming home.


	2. Not So Bad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To say Persephone was miffed would be putting things incredibly, incredibly lightly. Not only did her husband have an affair- one that gave him two children, no less- but when he decided that he wasn't going to leave them up on the surface- where they belong- that nearly drove her insane. Now, if only she could bring herself to hate them...

To say Persephone was miffed would be putting things incredibly, _incredibly_ lightly. Not only did her husband have an affair- one that gave him _two children_ , no less- but then he decided that he wasn't going to leave them up on the surface- where they _belong_ , which nearly drove her insane. If only she could actually hate his kids.

Now, don't get her wrong, she was in _no way_ okay with him cheating, _twice,_ with the _same woman_ and then _bringing them to their home_ to be _raised_ in their _palace_ \- no, not at _all_. And to be honest, she really _did_ resent the two at first. Both children looked almost exactly like their mother. Especially the oldest, Bianca. They served as constant reminders of her husband's infidelity.

Persephone remained cordial from the very beginning (partially from Hades' begging), but the girl's sharp eyes and impudent attitude made it clear that she knew _exactly_ what Persephone was thinking, and that her adversity towards the young girl was mutual.

This really didn't bother the goddess. Or it wouldn't if the little _brat_ wasn't living with her- or if she at least didn't look so much like her damn mother. If she resembled her father more, it might've been easier to forget that her husband's attentions had strayed elsewhere. It just grated at her to see those freckles, that sharp nose, that silky long hair, those _features_ that were _so much like Maria_ and so _clearly_ not from her father.

And yet, those eyes of hers, those dark eyes that gleamed with both madness and genius- they were so very much like her husband. As if he purposefully gave her those sharp eyes that would stop anyone in their tracks, could look into their very souls and _see_ \- it was the only thing that stopped Persephone from probably throttling Bianca in her sleep. She somehow couldn't _stand_ seeing those eyes, seeing this blend of Hades and another woman stare so perfectly back at her, daring her to do something.

Don't get her started on the son.

Nico was a whole other thing in general. Bianca herself was upsetting due to her looks and her similarities to her parents- Nico, well, Persephone didn't know where Nico came from. She supposed one of the things that confused her the most about him was that he was nearly nothing like either Bianca _or_ Hades, being bright and excited and generally scatterbrained- quite obvious with how much he spoke- but she knew that he wasn't like his mother, either.

Persephone had never met Maria- _thank the Fates for that_ \- but she could tell by the way Hades would look at his daughter sometimes (the words still stung; _his daughter_ ) when she said or did something particularly daring, that she was much like Maria di Angelo.

So where, oh where, did Nico's inherent curiosity come from? It honestly irritated her, but to a different degree. She truly considered him to be a separate brand of annoying. Bianca was simply a carbon copy of her lord's mistress, whereas Nico just didn't understand how to shut. Up. She didn't know which was worse.

She _did_ realize, however, that he looked far more like her Lord, what with his dark eyes, which (while large and innocent) were hiding the potential for carnage. And as time went on, he seemed to calm down a little. This eased her annoyance, but only slightly. She supposed it helped that she noticed he made sure to be significantly subdued while in her presence.

And yet, all she could think about was how she just wished they would _disappear._ They didn't belong in the Underworld- they weren't supposed to be raised by gods. They were supposed to be sent out into the real world, where they would either fight or die. After all, that's how all the other gods 'taught' their children.

But, somehow, as she was contemplating getting rid of them one ordinary day, she found herself with an odd feeling in her chest as she thought about it. It was a strange, heavy feeling, that weighed her down and made her feel absolutely rotten.

What _was_ this? Persephone didn't realize then that the feeling was 'guilt'. The only thing the goddess knew was that plotting to get rid of them felt bad all of a sudden, and that she should perhaps think of things another way.

It was true that over the course of time, she grew begrudgingly attached to the two children, with Nico and his borderline obsession with some strange game he called 'Mythomagic', and with Bianca and her obstinate, unyielding nature that she realized was just so much like _Hades_.

The feelings only strengthened when she noticed that they too were beginning to grow attached to _her_ , when Nico had slipped in his speech and nearly called her 'mother.' And suddenly, out of nowhere, she knew she couldn't let them go.

They were the closest to children that she had ever had, what with her promising both her husband and herself that she wouldn't sire children with anyone but him, and the taboo subject that were her actual kids, Melinoe and Dionysus ( _who quite honestly were a bit of an embarrassing tale altogether_ ).

She understood she was never going to be Maria, and she wasn't trying to be. The subject of Maria was- and probably always would be- a sore one for the goddess, and she was sure by the way the two children acted, that they were in quite a similar situation. Their memories were coming back in bits and pieces, with Hades practically wrestling them out of Mnemosyne's hungered clutches.

Honestly, the woman could eat practically three millennia worth of memories and still could never be satisfied. A bit shameful, really.

Still, despite the knowledge that they weren't technically her kids, and that the way they came to be was a less-than-pleasing tale, Persephone couldn't help but feel as if this was her chance to be a proper mother. She'd always wondered what it would be like, and was truly tired of resenting both Nico and Bianca so much.

Besides, watching Bianca, seeing the way that she took care of Nico- the way she comforted him when he'd scrape a knee, or entertain him whenever she felt up to playing Mythomagic with him, or just how adorable she looked in that silly, floppy green hat- they were far too endearing to hate.

And she could see that they were warming up to her, too, were tired of being weary of her presence. Bianca seemed to approve of her once Nico had warmed up to her. It was surprisingly easy, actually. All it took was a little care.

Nico was running around the palace again, dashing into the throne room with his toy fighter jet and making airplane noises with his mouth. He was halfway across the room and Persephone was close to exploding on him when he tripped and fell, releasing his grip on the toy in the process. He sat up slowly, tears already forming in his wide eyes as he clutched his knee to his chest.

Immediately, Persephone was off her throne and by his side, gently prying his hands away to examine his wound. It was a simple scrape, with a bit of skin peeling and tiny pebbles of blood forming on his pale skin. Bianca ran in just then, calling for her little brother to slow down and stay out of the throne room. She slowed to a stop as she saw them, Persephone ignoring her sharp and analytical gaze in favor of summoning a small vial of nectar instead.

"Let me see," Persephone murmured softly. Nico sniffled before complying, trying and failing miserably to hold back his tears. Without a word, the goddess uncorked the bottle and poured its contents onto the wound. The bottle was small and thin, barely the size of a child's pinky finger, and therefore she had no concerns about overdosing him.

Instantly the skin mended itself and what little bleeding there was had stopped immediately. Nico gazed at his knee in wonder as Persephone wiped the blood off and revealed the perfectly healed skin. A ghost of a smile played at the goddess' lips, displaying only a tiny quirk of the left side of her mouth.

Perhaps hesitantly, she softly petted Nico's messy, inky black hair. The eight-year-old, previously captivated with the 'miracle' that was his healed injury, made eye contact with her on instinct. Feeling Bianca's gaze get more intense, she turned slightly to see her, hand still on Nico's head.

"Nectar," she told her. "the consumption or application of nectar to the body will heal you. But do not eat too much, and only when injured. The drink of the gods will only help you halfway. Be careful not to splurge. You will burn- quite literally." With that warning, she waved her free hand and a significantly larger glass bottle appeared at Bianca's feet, along with a small box of ambrosia. Bianca picked them both up, though she did cast the goddess a questioning glance at the sight of the ambrosia box.

"Ambrosia," she supplied. "Our food. The same rules apply." Bianca nodded dutifully and thanked the goddess with a dip of her head and a small "thank you." Persephone nodded in acceptance, noting the odd new light in the demigod's eyes. She seemed more relaxed now, and spared the immortal a small smile. Approval. That was the word. That was the look she had given her.

And she was sure that Nico liked her too, since he surprised her with a hug right after, catching her off guard. It was a pleasant surprise, one that she welcomed with both arms, albeit a bit slowly at first. When she finally did wrap both arms around the tiny boy, she could feel him smile against her, and she smiled too, softly.

"Thank you, mo-Miss Persephone," Nico said sweetly, and her soft smile became a large, full-fledged one.

"Of course."

Maybe having these two around wasn't going to be so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, did you like? I hope you guys did. It's summer vacation and I have nothing better to do, so I'll probably be updating frequently for the next few weeks, though then it'll most likely be radio silence til break, lol.


	3. Toys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hades was getting used to being a full-time father. Thanatos expressed his concerns.

Hades huffed in irritation, commanding his undead servants to rearrange the furniture once more.

"No. _No._ That's not where it's supposed to go. I said left- _no!_ Leave that lamp over there! What in the name of- _no!_ _Do you not hear me?!_ I said _away_ from the window, which should have _heavy curtains!_ How are my children supposed to sleep _if their bed outlooks the view of tortured souls?"_ He growled and rubbed his temples aggressively. How was he supposed to deal with this _and_ all the outrageous things that go on during his normal work day? Behind him, someone cleared their throat. Hades turned, coming face to face with Death.

"What," he said plainly. Thanatos quirked a perfect brow.

"Got a minute, sir?"

* * *

Hades sighed in content as he sat down in his office, relaxing in the black leather seat for a small moment before leaning forward to assess the issue at hand. He clasped his hands and rested his elbows on the desk, looking up at Thanatos who stood in front of him.

His office was large, and for the most part, everything was black. From the ebony floors to the obsidian walls, the only things that weren't darker than shadows were the skulls decorating the room. Thanatos tried his best to ignore the _other_ things that were adding color to the room, namely the toys littered everywhere ranging from race cars to tiny action figures.

"You wished to speak to me?" Thanatos nodded.

"Yes. Specifically, about the, ah... _character_ added to your palace as of late." At this point, Thanatos didn't bother hiding the fact that he was eyeing the toys spread out everywhere, including on the desk that Hades had cleared off so nonchalantly upon entering the room. He made sure to choose his words carefully, however, as he was aware that his children were a sensitive subject for the lord of the Underworld.

"Hm, yes. I suppose I need to properly explain to Nico that offices are not for playing in," he said thoughtfully. Thanatos wasn't quite sure if Hades didn't pick up on the implications his tone held, or if he was simply ignoring him. He would've sighed if the gesture wouldn't be considered rude.

However, there were ethics being put into question, and laws that weren't being followed. While he wasn't one to question his lord, he was most definitely concerned with the prospect of something hindering their work. Thanatos frowned.

"Yes, but, sir, I would like to ask about the decision of raising your children at all. It has only been a day, and yet it appears that they are complicating things already. There are ancient laws that we must abide by. Even the Underworld, and _especially_ the dead- or undead. They are absolute." Hades quirked an eyebrow.

"That is true. However, the difference between the living and the dead is that the living _isn't_ absolute. There are options, ones that I will observe and pick the best of for my children. Honestly, the idea that you would be concerned about abiding laws other than those of the underworld, of death, is rather surprising to me." Thanatos offered a wry smile.

"Of course not. I simply needed to confirm that you have full confidence in this plan." Both immortals knew full well that Hades was anything _but_ confident, but said nothing. All Thanatos wanted to hear was that this was a final decision, that Hades was sticking by it, and Thanatos would follow suit. He was never one to question those he was loyal to _(whether or not Hades was the only he was loyal to was not the issue)_.

They knew he had to try, had to make the best of things. If he couldn't bring back Maria to raise them, then raising them himself was the next best thing. Especially knowing now that both his brothers had their _own_ little brats running around in the upper world.

The door burst open, and both gods looked to see just who had the gall to enter the private room of Hades without permission. Fake airplane noises greeted them as Nico ran in, holding a toy fighter jet in front of him as he pretended to send military messages to fellow fleets that didn't exist.

Thanatos sent his boss an amused glance, while Hades himself frowned. He wasn't a big fan of the toy aircraft, as it reminded him too much of his bastard of a younger brother. But Nico appeared to like it, and whatever entertained and kept the hyperactive child happy was good enough.

Hades sighed and rubbed his temples. He found himself doing this a lot. Never in all the millennia that he lived did he ever think that raising a mortal child would be so _difficult._ Then again, a good portion of that would be due to the fact that he hardly thought about it at all. No god had ever attempted what he was doing, and he was beginning to see why.

With the dead, there were less things to worry about. There was no need to feed a skeleton, for it could not starve. There was no reason to ask if a ghost was cold, for it cannot fall ill. And yet, humans, especially those that could not care for themselves, were vulnerable to that and so much more, _required_ that and so much more. Arguing with Zeus and fighting against his father wasn't even this stressful. And yet, this was far more rewarding all the same.

Finally, he pulled himself together and planned what he wished to say.

"Nico," he called, just as his son leaped over a Lego pile and spun around. Nico stopped at the sound of his father's call, lowering his arm and staring at him with wide, curious eyes. It was apparent that the demigod wasn't quite used to being with his father yet, but was also excited to be around him. The young boy held the toy in both hands, fiddling with it as he walked over to his father compliantly.

"Yes, papa?" the eight-year-old said. Whether or not Hades melted was something he would refuse to talk about with anyone, ever. Still, the immortal tried for an amicable look. The parenting books his subjects had retrieved for him stressed the importance of positive encouragement and praise, and in all the pictures the adults were smiling happily with their child. His expression was probably a grimace at best, but Nico understood the attempt, and smiled back cheerfully.

Hades cleared his throat. At some point, Thanatos had left, seeing as his lord was rather preoccupied at that moment. "We must speak about your toys." Nico didn't understand that he meant _"you need to stop putting them everywhere"_ , as instead of looking solemn like his father expected, he was excited.

"Okay!" he exclaimed. Before Hades could elaborate, Nico began to climb onto his lap. Baffled, the god merely watched as his son made room for himself _(which wasn't hard given he was small even for an eight-year-old, and Hades' humanoid form was unbelievably tall)_.

He supposed Nico should've been scared of such a tall form, but upon meeting the young boy, Nico instead found his height awe-inspiring and asked incessantly if he was ever going to get that big. Hades had told him only time could tell, but if he ate and slept properly then perhaps he could get close.

Once settled, Nico looked up at his father. "This is my favorite fighter jet," he said, offering his dad the plastic replica. "It's not my favorite toy, though. These are!" He went digging into his pocket, before pulling out a few tiny figurines. Hades recognized them not as what they were, but rather who they were made to replicate. Greek monsters and deities, all in their own fierce poses.

"They're from my Mythomagic collection," Nico told him giddily. "I have all of them! Even the rare collectors' edition!" He showed him the Pegasus figurine as an example, before his expression turned crestfallen.

"Well, _almost_ all of them. I don't have yours, cause it's super rare and you have to get it from the Underworld collector's box set, but it's limited edition and so I couldn't get it..." as his son rambled on, he pocketed his figurines again. Hades blinked.

"Ah, well, that's... good. Yes, very good." Nico's face brightened at the approval, and Hades awkwardly patted his son's head. "However, I meant to say that you have been leaving toys everywhere. It would be best if they are in one place, yes? So you can know where they all are?" Nico nodded reluctantly, pouting a little.

"Wonderful. So from now on, you can keep them in your bedchamber." Nico looked up at his father curiously.

"Bedchamber?" Hades nodded.

"Yes. Where you will sleep. Do you wish to see?" Upon seeing Nico nod excitedly, Hades gave a small, doting smile. Suddenly, he scooped up his son and stood up, catching Nico by surprise. The demigod let out a startled squeal, followed by laughter. He clung to his father by his shoulders as Hades swept out of the office, bringing his son to his new bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 2 a.m. I'm dead inside. Hope it wasn't too stale.


	4. Have a Little Spring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's wintertime, and Persephone feels worse than usual. Her little stepchildren know just how to make her feel better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sidenote, since I realized I have an incredibly loose timeline, if at all. This story is now around January or February, so about 5-7 months cause I skip around a lot. Bianca and Nico have already had their birthdays, and are eleven and nine respectively.

There was a knock on the door and Persephone allowed them to enter. Upon recognizing her guest, she smiled. Bianca peered into the large room, dark eyes wide and excited. Persephone patted the bed, beckoning her, and her stepdaughter smiled brightly as she ran over to the goddess, her arms filled with bright flowers of a variety of colors. Bianca made sure to dump said flowers onto the goddess’ lap before hopping onto the lavish silk and satin blankets.

“Hi,” she said breathlessly, and Persephone laughed. For a moment, a small bit of color returned to her skin, and she glowed just a little. Bianca smiled wider as she noticed this. “I brought all our favorites,” She said proudly. While flowers aren’t particularly heavy to hold, large amounts such as the one she brought were troublesome, and a child’s arms could only hold so many without crushing or dropping them. It was an especially harsh winter for Persephone, who looked- and felt- even sicker than usual.

Noticing this, Bianca decided it was time to pay her a visit. Gods don’t really sleep, but Persephone had been on bed rest for the past week, and both Bianca and Nico were worried. However, Nico insisted that sleepovers were “girl things” and that he would rather play Mythomagic with the servants. Bianca never bothered to let him know that she knew he was actually making daisy chains to put around their step-mother’s pillows and throne.

They did these things quite often, typically during the coldest days of winter while the living world froze outside and sought warmth with each other indoors. Bianca personally hadn’t been in the Upper world in at least a few months, perhaps even a year, though she really couldn’t know- it was hard to tell day from night in the land of the dead. Time seemed rather stagnant when unimportant. She didn’t mind, of course. The land of the living had nothing for her- at least, nothing that she could want.

But one thing she knew for sure was that she didn’t like winter much. It made her step-mother sick, and while the colder half of the year was the only time her stepmother was around, it wasn’t always this bad. Bianca picked up a crimson poppy. She had run all the way to Elysium to find these, and then the outskirts of the Isles of the Blessed to pick Persephone’s favorites.

“Here,” The young demigod said, offering Persephone the flower. “Do you wanna do my hair first, or do you want me to do yours?” Persephone pretended to contemplate it for a moment.

“How about I do yours first?” Bianca giddily turned to face away from her, pushing her long, raven black locks behind her shoulders in an excited manner. Persephone’s immortal heart melted, and she gently grasped her step-daughter’s hair, grabbing flowers with one hand and a section of her hair in the other.

She began weaving the flora into her hair, listening as Bianca chattered excitedly about something or the other that she had done that day. Persephone hummed in acknowledgement as she continued her ministrations, before Bianca finally asked her favorite question.

“So, what did you do when you visited nonna?” Bianca had fallen into the habit of calling Demeter ‘nonna’ around Persephone, and ‘zia’ around her father.

“Well, we had a lovely walk around the parks of Olympus. Then, we decided a small trip to the mortal world couldn’t hurt…” The entire time, Bianca listened raptly as her stepmother regaled her on the days she spent in the meadows, making flowers bloom and feeling the ichor-colored sun on her perfect skin.

She would soak up the sunlight and celebrate being with her mother, ignoring Apollo’s irritating comments about how special and important his sunlight was. Bianca would giggle, gasp, and ask questions at the appropriate moments, clearly invested in the story. Somehow, somewhere within the time that they swapped places for Bianca to braid Persephone’s silky long locks, Persephone had begun telling stories about ancient Greece instead. Bianca was just as enthralled, yet never faltered in her braiding.

Just as she tucked the final rose into place and clipped back the last strands of hair, a knock came to the door. It was soft and tentative. Both girls smiled, knowing exactly who it was.

“You may enter,” The goddess called, smoothing out the part of her nightgown that laid over her lap. The door pushed open slightly, revealing a small, short mop of inky black hair. Large dark eyes peered at the duo from behind the curtain of wild hair, blinking curiously. Persephone fought the urge to coo as she invited him further in.

Nico jumped at the invitation, pushing the door away completely and dashing for the large bed. Persephone laughed as she helped him up onto the large mattress, the small boy making tiny grunting noises as he scrambled his way up and landed on his stomach with an _‘oof’_. Once Nico had settled himself, he sat up to face them, and showed his stepmother the plethora of daisy chains.

They were lightly smothered from being tossed around and briefly laid on, but otherwise were pristine and deeply cherished. “For your pillows,” he said, offering them to her. “So you can have a little spring.”


	5. Mythomagic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To say Nico liked Mythomagic would be a massive understatement. The young demigod was obsessed with it, and often attempted to rope others into his games as well. Whether or not he inadvertently ends up winning all their hearts is another thing entirely.  
> I needed more Nico, sooooo  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured it would be smart to let you guys know I'm not dead, so :)

To say Nico loved Mythomagic would be an understatement. The child was nearly obsessed with the card game, which was essentially the only thing he wanted to do all day- play Mythomagic. Of course, this posed many problems, as Mythomagic was best as a multiplayer game and Nico was probably the only person in the entirety of the Underworld who fully understood it.

However, that never kept him from trying to teach others so that they would be able to play with him. Whenever Bianca didn’t feel up to it _(which honestly was fairly often),_ the son of Hades would wander around the palace for any given amount of time, simply searching for anyone willing to learn.

At first, those who befell such an ‘unfortunate’ fate _(particularly the intelligent skeletons)_ would most likely try to endure, going along simply for the sake of not upsetting the small child, and in turn, his father. A perfect example would be the undead soldier who was guarding Persephone’s garden when Nico wandered in, and begged him to come sit and play. The skeleton complied, knowing better than to ignore the wishes of the young prince.

For the next hour or so, he listened and made conversation with the nine-year-old. Despite the soldier being nothing more than animated bones, Nico was able to understand his clattering teeth completely, as if speaking a language he knew all his life.

* * *

“So, what’s your name?” He asked, staring into the soldier’s empty sockets as if he still had eyes. He didn’t, but the gesture was appreciated and duly noted. The skeleton, in turn, responded with a distinct chattering noise that could really only be described as they were- teeth clattering against one another. Still, Nico nodded understandingly.

“David Wroth, huh? That’s cool. I’m Nico.” he introduced himself in turn, as if David hadn’t known already. Still, the skeleton found it remotely endearing. “Where are you from? I’m from D.C, but before that I was in Maine. I was born in Venice, though.” he rambled. His Italian origin was made quite clear from the slight accent he still had. David’s clicking explained that he was from Virginia, and that he had died in the earlier years of the civil war.

Nico gasped. “Really? How old were you? Were you fighting, or was it something else? Did you get sick? My nonna got sick and she died. Was it scary? I bet it was scary… I’m sorry you had to go through something so scary. Hey, when was the civil war, anyway? What _was_ the civil war? What does 'civil' even mean? Is it a name, like 'Sybil'? I knew a girl named Sybil once. She wasn't very nice. She made fun of my cards. Did _you_ ever meet someone named Sybil? Were _they_ nice?” If skeletons could sigh, David sure did.

It took David a moment to respond, and despite not having a brain to process it, he had to backtrack to answer each question carefully. In his opinion, having to deal with Nico’s incessant curiosity and his unending rants would’ve killed him if he weren’t already dead. As Nico shuffled the cards and got back onto the topic of how to play, David hoped his little highness would soon grow tired of him, too.

* * *

But before long, the undead inhabitants of the Underworld found themselves learning for the sole sake of seeing Nico happy, of making him laugh and smile and chatter excitedly when they got something right. It was interesting, seeing as the young, _living_ child grew on them. Many of the skeletons found themselves awaiting his visits, having missed the presence of a real, breathing human much more than they thought.

His rapid-fire questions and overall cheerfulness grew to be endearing, and they loved watching as his eyes sparkled in excitement over any typically mundane thing that he found particularly interesting. In fact, a few of the undead even began to practice playing Mythomagic together in their free time, wanting to impress the little demigod the next time he came around.

This was especially the case with Marjorie Winston, a young woman who had died during childbirth around World War I, and hadn’t gotten the chance to raise her son the way she wanted.

Marjorie found herself doting on Nico, who loved to seek her out the most during the springtime, when Persephone was in the living world and he missed the presence of a mother figure. He wasn’t a substitute in any way for her son, Thomas, but he definitely made her feel as if there was still someone to care for in her (after) life.

Nico gasped as Marjorie slapped the card onto the table triumphantly. “I can’t believe I forgot you had the Ares card! Darn. Now my Minotaur has -100 effectiveness!”

Before any of them knew it, they were wrapped around the child’s small pinky finger.


	6. Cerberus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico and Bianca go on an adventure. They realize their wish for a pet might just come true, if only in the strangest way.

"Come on, Bi! Andiamo!" Nico urged, sprinting down the hill. Behind him, his older sister groaned.

" _I'm coming,_ Nico. Just slow down!" She begged, clearly not as excited as he was. To be frank, Bianca was completely sure that what they were doing was going to get them killed. Not only did their father hate them leaving the palace unattended, but they were heading straight for the one place the immortal wanted them to never visit; the judgement table.

Couple that with the fact that her father had been on edge ever since the winter solstice, and a tight bundle of worry and anxiety was born in the pit of Bianca's stomach. It wasn't that she believed Hades would _hurt_ them, per say; just that she still wasn't quite used to his presence and didn't know what kind of punishments a god of the Underworld could cook up.

"I still don't think we should be doing this," she muttered under her breath. Her nine-year-old brother still heard this, despite being a few feet ahead.

"Well, what are we _gonna_ do? Daddy's real busy, matrigna's not feeling too good, and none of the guards wanna play with me today! They said if they got caught again, daddy would get mad..." Nico pouted, faltering in his run just slightly. Then, he seemed to snap himself from his reverie and sped up again, much to his sister's displeasure.

" _So,_ we need to go on an adventure!" Bianca rolled her eyes. _'Or,'_ she thought to herself, _'we could sleep in to our heart's content.'_ Alas, her hyperactive sibling had no such plans.

Being a demigod, Bianca most definitely had ADHD. However, it was nowhere near as intense as her brother's, who could almost never sit still for longer than a split second. Bianca had her active moments, sure, but her affliction was mild and she was oftentimes too occupied with something to feel like running around. Also, she just _really_ loved to sleep.

"Why can't we just go back to the Fields and talk to the dead again, fratello? The judgement area is vietato! We can't go there!" Nico sighed, as if he had the right to be exasperated with her.

" _Perché,_ if we go to the Fields, we'll run into the bird-ladies, and then they'll get mad and take us back to the castle!" Nico spoke as if he were talking to someone younger than him, much to his sister's chagrin.

"Well, why can't we go back? We're supposed to be there! Papa's already angrier than usual since the solstizio- we shouldn't make it worse!" By then, they were already close to their destination. The high tables of the judges were visible, as were the bright guide lights used to keep the endless souls in their respective lines.

Bianca supposed she could try to drag Nico back to the palace. She was, after all, his older sibling, and he usually felt obligated to listen to her. However, as tiny as Nico was, it would be no easy affair to physically force him, should he resist. His tiny limbs flailed in a way that no eleven-year-old could restrain. Which was why she was truly hoping he would just decide to head back home with her, but it was clear the younger demigod had other plans.

"Yeah, he's mad- which is exactly why we shouldn't head back yet! Daddy means well, but he's tired- we should get out of his hair for a while and adventure! What better place than the one area he wouldn't think to find us? Ora, andiamo avanti!" Nico sped up, excited to reach the lines of souls. However, there was one thing he had forgotten, which was quite critical to his little journey- the gates of the Underworld.

The roar shook them to their core, stopping both demigods in their tracks and filling them with a self-preservational urge. Whether to fight or to run, they weren't sure- but it felt crucial that they did one.

Finally regaining her wits, Bianca grabbed her brother's wrist and tugged at it, attempting to drag them back to the safety of home. Nico, however, stood his ground.

"Nico, andiamo. Non è sicuro. We have to go back. _Adesso._ " She insisted, but her brother, suddenly filled with a courage from Athena-knows-where, shook his head.

"No." The nine-year-old made a beeline for the noise. Bianca followed, an incredulous expression etched into her face.

"Sei pazzo, Nico? Did you not hear that... that _mostro?_ Maybe _that's_ why papa said to stay away- it's probably dangerous!" But Nico trudged forward, and his sister followed. As irritating as her little brother could be, she loved him and wasn't about to leave him to his own devices. _Especially_ when he was hurling himself headfirst into danger.

"No, I think I know what this is," he said, unwavering. "I need to see for myself is all. You don't have to come along, sorella." Which Bianca knew as utter bull.  There was no way she would leave him alone. And so, despite the angered roars, the children of the Underworld continued with their mission to find the beast.

When they reached the stream of spirits, Bianca couldn't believe her eyes. She wasn't too sure just what they were staring at, just that it was _massive,_ with multiple writhing heads, including a snake that faced them.

Bianca was no expert in monsters, but she felt that she recognized the creature somehow. Its appearance tugged at something in the back of her consciousness, like it was something she had seen in passing. Nico answered that for her.

"Cerberus," he whispered, and it clicked in her head. Cerberus, the three-headed dog. Her father's gatekeeper and perhaps one of the fiercest creatures not imprisoned in the Underworld. She had remembered seeing Nico pulling the card out of a cereal box. Quickly, her brother put down his backpack and unzipped it.

"Let's hope this works," he murmured, before pulling out a red rubber ball. Bianca blinked.

What.

"Nico, sei serio? What are you trying to do- play fetch?" Nico smiled brightly up at her.

_"Precisely."_

* * *

Hades growled and rubbed his temples aggressively. He was beginning to think it was doing more harm than good, seeing as his head began to hurt on a physical level as well as psychological. But old habits die hard, especially during such a terrible time.

His helm was missing. It had been missing since the winter solstice, when he went up for the meeting on Olympus. He was almost certain about who the perpetrator was, and therefore sent Alecto to watch him.

The mere thought made him snarl. Poseidon, that _bastard,_ was getting as bad as Zeus. At least with the old Air Head, he would've been more direct about his desire for war- there would be no need for such underhandedness. If he wanted war, he would just attack Hades himself, or at least send Ares to do it. He was- begrudgingly- the strongest, after all. There would be no need for Thunderhead to steal anything; he'd just march in and start throwing lightning like the bull-headed asshole he was.

Either way, Poseidon was clearly feeling _extra_ power-hungry, seeing as he also went ahead and had his bastard son steal Zeus' own weapon- the lightning bolt.

He really, _really_ wished he could charge into the seas and slap Barnacle Beard around until he got his helm back.

But he couldn't. Because as far as everyone else knew, Hades didn't lose anything. And he wanted to keep it that way- he couldn't afford to lose the fear and respect he had built up over the centuries, couldn't afford to show any forms of weakness. Especially not when he had two small, precious lives depending on him. He had far more to lose than before.

Which was why he needed to solve this quickly. He couldn't allow anyone to know about the Underworld's affairs.

Just when he thought he had finally sorted things out and things would be okay, a skeleton guard knocked rapidly on the door. Hades waved his hand and it opened. The god gave a sharp "what", only to be told that his children were nowhere to be found in the palace, and that some Asphodel spirits saw them passing by, heading for the gates. His heart sank, and Hades immediately swept out of the room, intending to find his reckless children.

* * *

Cerberus howled as his heads fought for the rubber ball. Nico giggled, reaching to pet one of his muzzles. The dog, who was rolling on the floor, stopped moving to peer at the demigod curiously. Bianca, who was just starting to warm up to the behemoth, let out a strangled noise of warning. Her brother ignored it in favor of holding out his hand tentatively. Nico left his hand to hover over the middle head's nose, and all three pressed close to sniff him. Cerberus seemed to like what he smelled, as his right head licked (and therefore drowned) Nico's palm, lathering it in thick saliva.

Bianca wrinkled her nose while Nico laughed happily. He then rubbed one of Cerberus' noses vigorously, much to the dog's delight.

"C'mon, sis, try it," Nico encouraged, and his sister finally decided that if Nico could do it then she could too, and allowed Cerberus to smell and lick her hand. Five minutes later and both demigods were playing enthusiastically with the giant beast, the tiny red ball going back and forth between the trio.

Which was how Hades found them, shrieking and laughing and throwing the toy around, calling "catch it, Spot!" and "Sorry!" to the occasional soul Cerberus would trample in his haste to catch the ball.

When Bianca noticed her father standing a few feet away, she stopped in her tracks, confusing Cerberus who was expecting her to toss the ball. Nico, who was having too much fun to recognize the change in atmosphere, trotted over to his sister.

"Hey, what's wrong? You haven't thrown the ball..." Nico trailed off, realizing his father was there. His expression froze, before a giant grin split across his face.

 _"Daddy!"_ he yelled, running towards the god. Both Bianca and Hades were startled by this reaction. Nico, upon reaching his dad, flung his arms up in a silent demand to be carried. Hades, as if on instinct, wrapped his arms around his son and lifted him, securing him by his chest.

"Daddy, why didn't you tell us we had a doggy? I've _always_ wanted one! He's so _cool,_ too- we have the coolest dog _ever!_ He has three heads! _And a snake tail!_ " As Nico chattered on, Bianca sidled up to the two, cautiously observing her father's expression. "Hey, are you busy now? We can all play together! Spot _really_ likes red rubber balls- we should buy a _huge_ one to fit him!" Cerberus seemed excited to be around Hades, if not a bit weary. Hades quirked an eyebrow.

 _"Spot?"_ He said incredulously. Cerberus' head tilted to the side as he heard this, as if to acknowledge the name. Nico nodded excitedly.

"Yup! I know his real name's Cerberus, but I figured it was _such_ a long name, and it means something like that anyway, so why not?" The lord of the Underworld seemed unsure how to respond when he felt a tug on his robes.

"You're not... mad, are you?" Bianca asked tentatively, still gripping onto his robes. Hades put a hand on her head, ruffling it a little. She smiled.

Hades let out a long sigh. "I suppose not, as long as you heed my warnings next time. Cerberus was _not_ what I was keeping you away from." Bianca frowned.

"Then, what was it, papa?" she asked as she retrieved Nico's backpack and the trio bid goodbye to Cerberus. The gargantuan canine whined, but went back to his post as gatekeeper after the sharp look Hades sent his way and the promise of more rubber balls from Nico. "What _are_ you keeping us away from?"

The immortal seemed to contemplate it for a moment, swinging Bianca's hand in his casually. Nico began playing with his father's hair, twirling it absentmindedly with one hand and clutching a part of his father's robes with the other. It was clear that Nico was falling asleep, finding himself far more tired from a day of playing with a giant hellhound than he'd realized.

"I suppose I should tell you, seeing as it's quite apparent that your curiosity often overrides your sense of self-preservation," Bianca flushed in embarrassment. She wasn't quite sure what some of his words meant, but the way they were said and the context made his point obvious. "The judges are... untrustworthy. _Especially_ the one named Minos. His brothers are not of much concern on their own, but their loyalty as siblings is what makes me weary of them. Never speak to any of them, most importantly not Minos. And _never_ go past the gates. The river Styx is dangerous- it is a place that even I cannot save you from, should you decide to take a swim. In fact, do not go to any of the rivers. _Ever."_

Hades had shifted his shoulder at some point during his warning, waking Nico up so he could hear what the god had to say. Nico laughed. "Well, _duh,_ of course I'd never jump in a river- I can't swim!" Bianca giggled and Hades huffed.

"Which serves as more reason to stay away from them. Do not allow a single drop to touch you. It causes far more harm than you may think." Both children promised to stay away from the waters at all costs, though as Nico drifted off back to sleep, Bianca made a mental note to learn more about them one day.

* * *

 

When they were back at the palace, Persephone was waiting, a dozen or so servants hovering nervously around her. She was on bed rest, but upon hearing that her beloved stepchildren went off on their own to adventure, the goddess had made it as far as the entrance before being persuaded by the skeletons to at least wait inside. Once she saw them though, she had disregarded all their pleas to stop as she rushed over to her family, scooping Bianca up into her arms and placing a soft kiss on the crown of Nico's head.

"If you ever do that again, I will see how you like life as a daisy," she warned, but as Nico groaned in his slumber and Bianca whined, it was evident that neither child took it as too deep a threat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added some more Italian in here, courtesy of Google translate, cause I feel like they- more so Bianca- would probably revert back to it when unsettled. I'm assuming they speak a decent amount of Italian, especially on Bianca's part, being older and probably having more solid memories. Also, I can't speak for everyone but personally I tend to switch between languages while speaking with my family, so I feel like this would make way more sense than just plain English between the two of them. I tried to put more English than not, though, so that it still makes sense to everyone (hopefully).
> 
> Andiamo!- come on!/let's go!  
> Matrigna- stepmother  
> Vietato!- off-limits!/forbidden!  
> Perché- Because  
> Solstizio- solstice  
> Ora, andiamo avanti!- Now, come on!  
> Non è sicuro.- It's not safe.  
> Adesso.- Now.  
> Sei pazzo- Are you insane  
> Mostro?- Monster?  
> Sei serio?- Are you serious?  
> I'm sure we all know what fratello and sorella mean, so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	7. Zia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spring is late in the living world, and Demeter is worried. An unexpected visit to the Underworld explains why.

Hades had to be honest- he hadn't noticed the day's date. If he had, he would've realized that it was March 25th, meaning that spring should've began five days before. He also would've realized that that was an issue, seeing as Persephone was still in the Underworld.

So, in retrospect, Demeter barging in and demanding he 'release' her daughter was somewhat inevitable. In any case, he wished he could've had some form of a warning before his work was interrupted. The doors of his office burst open, startling the god and causing him to screw up his writing. Hades frowned, not only because of his marred documents but also due to his unexpected- and undesired- guest.

* * *

"What," Hades snapped, attempting to clean up his desk. The doors had slammed open so abruptly that some of his papers had moved, which caught his attention more so than the angry goddess that stormed in thereafter.

"Don't you 'what' me, Hades!" She snarled, stomping over to him. The lord of the Underworld didn't bother looking up at her as he shuffled his stacked documents. "My daughter was supposed to be up on Olympus five days ago!" She yelled. If not for the fact that Persephone would've been livid, Hades probably would've tried to blast the woman for attempting to make him go deaf.

He sighed. "That's not my fault. If she decided that she was going to stay late, then she didn't tell me. I have no clue whether or not she's here. I'm far too busy to have stepped out, let alone noticed." Demeter scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I don't believe you." When her brother waved his hand flippantly, she shook her head. "No matter. I will go collect her myself." the goddess spun on her heel and sashayed out the office, walking as if she actually knew where she was going. Hades hoped she did. The sooner Demeter left, the better.

Which was when he remembered that Persephone did, in fact, tell him she'd be staying a bit longer, so that she could spend a bit more time with the kids.

_The kids._

Persephone was with the kids. In other words, Persephone was with the kids and Demeter was going to go find her. _With the kids._

A tight knot of dread formed inside Hades as he shot up from his seat and began searching for his sister. Under _no circumstances_ could she come across his children.

* * *

"Persephone, I-" Demeter stopped the moment she laid eyes on her daughter. Persephone was sitting in the gardens in seiza position, practically glowing as she laughed and smiled. The sight brought warmth to her mother, yet Persephone's radiance wasn't what startled Demeter. On her lap was a small giggling boy whom she was tickling. Beside them was a young girl, no more than eleven years old. She looked almost exactly like the younger boy. She was smiling as she got in on the fun, ruffling the boy's inky black hair playfully and cooing.

The child wriggled in Persephone's grasp, shrieking in delight as he tried to escape the clutches of the two girls. They began attacking him with pecks on the face when he finally gasped, "okay, okay! I give up! Mi arrendo, _mi arrendo!_ " They finally ceased and he began taking large gulps of air, his head lolling back and resting against Persephone's arm. The goddess continued to cradle him, even as she used her free hand to high-five the young girl.

"Serves you right," His sister laughed, a few stray locks of her long dark hair falling into her face. "We won, we won!" She cheered. If Persephone could smile any wider, she did. Demeter finally snapped herself from her stupor. Clearing her throat, the goddess stepped forward.

"Persephone," She called. Her daughter jolted and turned her head. Upon seeing her, Persephone's eyes widened.

"Mother," she gasped.

* * *

When Hades appeared in the gardens, searching for his children, the sight he found caught him completely off guard. Demeter was holding Bianca out in front of her, gripping the demigod from beneath her armpits like a puppy. Demeter gazed at his daughter curiously, and Bianca stared back, swinging her legs (which barely touched the ground) and observing the goddess. Across from them was Persephone, who was still holding Nico and had begun rocking him gently as she conversed with her mother.

After Demeter had settled Bianca on her lap, Hades decided to step forward. Nico was the first one to notice him, looking up from his little figurines and locking eyes with his father almost immediately. Nico's face split into a bright, toothy smile and he wriggled his way out of his stepmother's hold. Persephone released him, and both goddesses looked over as the young demigod scrambled up from the grass and ran over to the god.

"Daddy!" Nico called, arms in the air with the intention to hug him. The immortal bent down to embrace his son, before pulling him up and carrying him back to the women. Demeter, despite still having Bianca on her lap, straightened up and glared at Hades menacingly.

" 'Daddy', huh?" she snapped. Hades sighed. Why did he have to deal with her? If they only met once every three centuries, it would _still_ be too often. "So, you have _two_ human children _irresponsibly_ with some mortal, and then you decide to not only bring them to your _home_ , but to have my daughter _raise them?_ " Persephone sighed, and Hades scowled. _He_ raised them. As busy as he was, he never made Persephone do _anything_ with them, and _never_ cast them aside. Yes, Persephone helped- she helped a great deal, seeing as his work was endless and so were the needs of children. But he _never_ forced her to spend time with them, and most certainly didn't force her to love them.

"I will have you know that I did _not_ , under _any_ circumstances, force my wife to do anything with my children, _whom I care for_. She cares for them on her own free will- and _I_ raise them, _actively._ Do _not_ look down on me, Demeter. I am surprised your bitterness hasn't yet spoiled a farmer's crops." The goddess in question scoffed.

"In any case, I had no knowledge of their existence! As their aunt and grandmother, it is absolutely imperative that I have time with them. Just shameful." Hades blinked.

"Mother," Persephone said, clearly exasperated, "I apologize for causing you worry. For once, I had forgotten about spring, because of τα παιδιά αγάπη μου," she explained. The goddess then pinched both her stepchildren playfully, to which they both squealed. "They are distracting. A nice distracting." Persephone added. Demeter sniffed.

"Well, I suppose it's okay, so long as they keep you company," The woman said begrudgingly. "And if they eat their cereal," she added, narrowing her eyes in a scrutinizing fashion. She poked Bianca's cheek, and the eleven-year-old looked up at her curiously. "Do you like cereal?" Bianca stared at her for a long while, before grinning.

"Sure." Demeter nodded.

"Good. Very good." She pat Bianca's head, before turning to Persephone. "Well, I assume I am not supposed to speak about this to Zeus?" Both Hades and his wife nodded. Demeter smiled wickedly. " _Good._ That old bastard has done enough, especially to you, daughter. It would be _splendid_ to have something over him." Demeter had not forgotten about Zeus conspiring to toss Persephone into the Underworld, nor did she forget how he proceeded to _sire two children_ with her- no, she would _never_ forget. Keeping such a secret from him, one that would surely make him livid- that would be her absolute _delight._

"Now, as wonderful as this has been, that does not change the fact that the world of the living needs springtime." Persephone agreed, and kissed her stepchildren on their foreheads. Nico frowned and grabbed her robes.

"But I don't want you to go," he whined. Persephone melted on the inside, and patted his cheek.

"I'll be back before you know it, Κανακάρη μου." He nodded reluctantly and let go. "Have fun with your father, okay?" Both children chorused a 'we will!', before turning their heads away. In a flash of bright light, both goddesses were gone.

"Daddy, when will we see zia again?" Bianca asked, grabbing his hand. Hades quirked an eyebrow at the fact that she called Demeter "aunty".

"I do not know. Perhaps when your stepmother comes back." Bianca appeared to accept that answer.

"Come, you can play inside," Hades said, shepherding his kids back into the palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried adding a little Greek in there with the Italian, seeing as they're, well, Greek. Again this is from Google websites and Google translate. If I got anything wrong, I'm sorry! Please let me know so I can fix it. Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
> 
> Mi arrendo - I give up  
> τα παιδιά αγάπη μου (ta paidiá agápi mou) - My darling children  
> Κανακάρη μου - My darling boy  
> Zia - Aunt


	8. Children

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanatos muses about his master's new role as a full-time father, observing his new life.

To say Thanatos was amused with the new development wouldn't be exactly accurate. Yes, certain moments he'd caught often brought a small smile to his face, but it was also slight cause for concern. This was such the case one day, when he was talking to Hades about the recent rise in young deaths, and the expansion issues that would ensue. The lord of the Underworld was heading to his office while they spoke, an edge in his tone. It was apparent that his lord had been restless since December, and had only grown more irate as summer began.

As Hades moved to sit on his chair, he instantly shot back up, an alarmed look on his face. Thanatos stopped speaking, surprised at the sudden motion. Hades turned to look at his seat, wondering what the sharp pain had been, only to hold up an abandoned Poseidon figurine, his trident being the thing that hurt most. Hades growled at the (inaccurate) representation of his brother, and tossed the Mythomagic statue aside as Thanatos tried to stifle a snort.

Later, when they began to wrap up the meeting, Nico came rushing in, a sheepish look on the young demigod's face as his father wordlessly handed the toy over, his meaningful look being the only indicator of his displeasure. Nico nodded his head slightly in a silent greeting to Death, which the god returned, before the nine-year-old proceeded to exit the office. Neither god mentioned the incident afterwards.

* * *

The second time, Thanatos had come across one of the children directly.

While Death was always busy, he was an immortal, and therefore had the ability to be in multiple places at once, collecting multiple souls and fulfilling multiple duties the very same second all around the world. One of which duties was ensuring the security of the Underworld, which was always in need of improvement. As he exited the palace to complete more tasks, he quite nearly hit into the tiny boy, who couldn't have been older than nine.

Thanatos blinked, recognizing him as his king's son- which wasn't quite hard, seeing as he was the only living- male- child to roam the entirety of the vast lands. Said demigod stared up at him curiously, taking in his large, intimidating form and pitch black wings. Oddly, he smiled.

"Un angelo," he breathed, his gaze now filled with awe. This surprised the god of death. Very few people were ever happy to see him, and while there were ideas being thrown around in modern culture like the 'angel of death', none had ever actually equated Thanatos himself with an angel of any kind.

"Well, that must be the first time someone has called me that," he said wryly, and Nico blushed. He shuffled his feet as he looked down at them, before looking back up at Thanatos timidly.

"Um, you're... papa's friend, yes?" Nico asked, his voice nearly a whisper. Thanatos wasn't quite sure how to respond, and Nico seemed to understand. "I mean," he mended, "You're close to him, and you talk to him about problems, right?" At this, Death agreed.

"Yes, I work rather closely with your father, and we often debate about decisions regarding the dead and the land they reside in." The child didn't appear to comprehend nearly half the words the god had spoken, but nodded anyway.

"Well then, uh, why is papa mad?" Thanatos contemplated his reply for a moment, unsure of what he was allowed to tell Hades' children- if he was supposed to tell them anything at all. He came to a decision.

"Someone very close to him has stolen something very important from him, and he needs to get it back," he summarized. Nico's eyes widened.

"What? Who? What did they steal? _Why_ did they steal it? Isn't stealing wrong? Mama always told me not to take people's things without asking... what would _their_ mama say if she knew?" The half-blood rambled, clearly not expecting such an answer. The god of death watched the young demi-human in a remotely bemused light. The child was endearing in a way, but also irritating to a certain degree. He supposed that was a special quality that all children naturally possessed.

"Well, whoever it is, they'd better give it back," he huffed, finally done with his rant. Thanatos nodded. _That,_ he could agree on. The helm of darkness was an incredibly powerful tool, and they couldn't afford to let anyone know that they were without it for any amount of time.

Nico then decided that the best way to cheer his father up was to visit Elysium and make the longest flower chains in existence and present them to Hades at once. Mind settled on his plan, he bid Thanatos a respectful farewell and ran off towards paradise. Death quickly made his way to his own tasks, and the matter was put aside.

But what was perhaps his most memorable incident was nearly two or three weeks before the summer solstice, when he ran into the one known as Bianca.

* * *

Bianca was running through the halls, chasing after Nico who had demanded they played tag. "I'm gonna get you!" she yelled. Nico responded by falling into a fit of giggles somewhere ahead of her. Just as she had turned the corner, she bumped into someone and subsequently fell on her butt.

"Ow," she whined, rubbing her sore rear-end. Finally feeling better, she looked up, only to notice an outstretched hand. Her gaze followed that hand up to a face as she took it, only to realize who she had crashed into.

It was a man, tall and tan with an imposing, well-built stature. She hadn't met him directly before then, and only recognized him from the times that she saw him in her father's office. Perhaps the most noticeable things about her father's 'work friend' (as her stepmother had so politely called him), were the large, inky black wings protruding from his back. It caught her attention almost immediately when she first saw him, and she _(like her brother)_ had since been convinced that he was some sort of angel.

As he pulled her up, he gave her a short, courteous nod, and she smiled hesitantly. It was then that she saw the long, Stygian iron scythe in his hand, something that he carried just as often as that strange black screen she saw him tapping on from time to time. Her small smile stretched into a larger one as Thanatos asked if she was alright.

"Mhm!" Bianca nodded vigorously. "I'm just fine, signor." Death's gaze seemed to lighten at the respectful term.

"Good," he said. Just as he was about to make his leave, she spoke up once more.

"Signor, were you always an angel, or did you do something really good first?" She asked. Thanatos didn't quite know what to say. For one thing, he wasn't an angel, and for another, he was surprised that she knew he clearly wasn't dead, seeing as nearly all of Hades' other associates were somewhere within that realm.

"I suppose I've always been this way," he mused. If anything, Bianca appeared crestfallen at the statement.

"So I won't grow wings?" Bianca, despite being eleven, was rather obviously banking on that idea. Usually, she was the sensible one between her and her brother. However, upon finding out that her father was not only a god, but one of the three most powerful, the demigod found herself chasing dreams she'd previously found to be ludicrous.

Thanatos put a hand on her head. "Well, I wouldn't think you could. But," he added, "Then again, Icarus was no demigod, and yet his father crafted wings from metal and wax and they flew." Bianca's eyes glittered at his attempt at encouragement, and Thanatos ignored the fact that not only was Daedalus, Icarus' father, a son of Athena, but Icarus had died on that trip. After all, Thanatos himself had collected the son's soul after he had drowned.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, signorina." Bianca's heart warmed to hear the expression, and she moved out of the way to let Thanatos leave. He disappeared down the hall, and Bianca watched him go. She probably would've stood there for a while, amazed that she met someone with _real wings,_ but was snapped from her reverie when she heard her brother's confused call.

"Sorella?" she spun around and sprinted down the hall to Nico.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's trash, but forgive me because it's midnight and I wrote it all in one day and just really wanted to write one last thing before school starts tomorrow and I end up hiding from the world for the next ten or so months. Hope you enjoy anyway, because from the next chapter on is the actual PJO storyline.  
> As usual, Google Translate is my Italian dictionary. Sue me (don't).


	9. Summer Solstice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The solstice has arrived and so has an unwanted visitor in Hades' palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In celebration of my first week of school ending, nevermind the fact that the second one starts tomorrow ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> (Warning: little to no editing in like 90% of this chapter.)

Nico hummed softly as he sorted his Mythomagic cards on the table. Beside him, Bianca was making flower crowns, practicing for when her stepmother came home for winter. Occasionally, Bianca would toss one onto an unsuspecting passerby, whether it be a guard assigned to watch them, or a servant walking by going about their daily duties. Her hard work was evident by the sheer amount of undead servants walking around with leis and wreaths hung around their necks and adorning their heads.

At one point she'd even thrown a flower crown onto Nico's head, which was essentially the only thing he'd let her do to his hair. She'd initially wanted to practice braiding flowers into his choppy locks, seeing as it was harder to braid her own, and she'd wanted to become better to impress Persephone. However, he'd drawn the line at that, insisting that he hardly had enough hair to tie back let alone braid. He'd also been adamant about flower-related hair decor being a "girl thing", which he refused to take part in no matter how much he loved his sister.

Eventually they began to grow bored. Bianca had run out of both flowers and undead soldiers, whereas Nico could only be so entertained by single-player Mythomagic for so long. They'd run out of books and games, and therefore decided to play on their own terms.

Which is what they did, pushing through the guards and making a break for it down the hall. While both children had long since known how to shadow-travel (Nico being better at it than Bianca), they found it wasn't nearly as fun as using their feet. If the guards weren't going to play with them willingly, they'd just make them.

* * *

Nico was sprinting through the palace when the ground began to shake. He skidded to a halt, dread pooling in his stomach. Was it even possible for earthquakes to occur in the Underworld? Immediately, the skeleton soldiers chasing after him disappeared, as if being called away. Bianca was nowhere in sight, having turned a separate corner a while back in an attempt to make it harder to catch them. But none of that mattered to him anymore. Nico curled himself into the fetal position, covering his ears with his tiny hands as he rocked himself back and forth. His eyes were screwed shut and his heart pounded in fear. The last time a building shook...

The last time a building shook, it had been their hotel in D.C. He remembered that day. Everything was perfect, until they got back to the hotel. All four of them were together for once. Nico was playing with pirate toys and Bianca was reading a book when everything suddenly began to tremble. The sky felt like it was falling and his distress only solidified when he saw the looks on Bianca's and Maria's faces.

The last time a building shook, Mama died.

And then out of nowhere the tremors had ceased, and all was still. The palace still appeared pristine and opulent, not a single thing out of place- as if there were no quakes to begin with. But terror still gripped his young heart, and in his blind panic he forgot about his innate ability to shadow travel as he made a mad dash for the throne room, sprinting like his life depended on it- which he honestly thought to be true.

* * *

In all honesty, Hades didn't really want things to go the way they were.

He didn't want to kidnap anyone's mother, and he certainly didn't care for meddling with the lives of some mortals. But circumstances led him to these unfortunate results, and to be truthful, he really didn't regret a single thing.

He couldn't be held responsible for doing anything within his power to protect his family. Admittedly, the lord of the Underworld was far more volatile than usual, in light of his new status as a full-time father. While his wife may have been safe- seeing as they consider her entire story to be a tragic hostage situation- his children weren't even supposed to exist. Hades would go against the Fates themselves if he had to- Zeus and the other Olympians were staying the Tartarus away from Nico and Bianca.

As he rested his gaze on the young heroes in front of him, his resolve had settled. He would get them to shut up, whether it be by bribing them or killing them. Either way, no word would come to Olympus about his children.

* * *

"Lord Hades," Percy said. "Look, sir, there can't be a war among the gods. That would be... bad."

"Really bad," Grover added helpfully.

"Return Zeus' master bolt to me," The demigod said. "Please, sir. Let me carry it to Olympus." Hades' eyes grew dangerously bright.

"You dare keep up this pretense, after what you have done?" The son of Poseidon glanced back at his friends. They looked as confused as he was.

"Um... Uncle," He said. "You keep saying 'after what you've done.' What exactly have I done?" The throne room shook with a tremor so strong, they probably felt it upstairs in Los Angeles. Debris fell from the cavern ceiling. Doors burst open all along the walls, and skeletal warriors marched in, hundreds of them, from every time period and nation in Western civilization. They lined the perimeter of the room, blocking the exits.

Hades bellowed, "Do you think I want war, godling?" Percy wanted to say, ' _Well, these guys don't look like peace activists.'_ But he thought that might be a dangerous answer.

"You are the Lord of the Dead," he said carefully. "A war would expand your kingdom, right?"

"A typical thing for my brothers to say! Do you think I need more subjects? Did you not see the sprawl of the Asphodel Fields?"

"Well..."

"Have you any idea how much my kingdom has swollen in this past century alone, how many subdivisions I've had to open?" Percy opened his mouth to respond, but Hades was on a roll. "More security ghouls," he moaned. "Traffic problems at the judgement pavilion. Double overtime for the staff. I used to be a rich god, Percy Jackson. I control all the precious metals under the earth. But my expenses!"

"Charon wants a pay raise," Percy blurted, just remembering the fact. As soon as he said it, he wished he could sew up his mouth.

"Don't get me started on Charon!" Hades yelled. "He-" A soft voice interrupted his rant.

“Daddy?”

Someone was calling him from outside the throne room. Hades’ mouth snapped shut, stifled, and Percy turned to Annabeth.

 _‘Daddy?’_ he mouthed. Hades was a _dad?_ Percy couldn't believe his ears. Who could possibly be this guy's kid? A stray mental image of some kind of evil zombie-demon-creature popped up in his mind. Percy made eye contact with Annabeth, who shrugged, though there was a sense of urgency behind it. Like she was telling him, _‘Don’t know, don’t care. The longer it takes for him to kill us the better.’_ To which he couldn’t agree more. He did _not_ want to be the kid who’s soul ended up woven into Hades’ _underwear._

Hades turned to one of the zombie guards, his sharp look sending a clear message. The zombie dude bowed and made its way to the giant doors. Hades’ eyes remained trained on it until the doors closed behind it. Finally, with his face taught, he turned his dour gaze back to Percy. _Crap._

"Now, where were we?" The son of Poseidon steeled himself, prepared (sort of) for just about anything the god threw at him. He came all this way, and he wasn't leaving without what he came for.

"You were telling me about how you took Zeus' master bolt?"

Hades hissed and leaned forward in his throne, gripping the armrests till his knuckles turned white. "You-" The door swung open, sweeping a group of soldiers away from the entrance, and a little blur raced past Percy and friends, startling them. The skeleton warrior from before trailed back in, somehow managing to look sheepish and terrified.

"Daddy!" The blob of inky blackness was suddenly by the throne, Hades catching it and resting it on his lap almost instinctively. What appeared to be a hazy shadow turned out to be an adorable little boy, with wide onyx eyes and a wild mop of raven hair. He was speaking in rapid-fire Italian, evidently in distress. The child clung to his father like a koala, peering at them curiously with teary eyes. If the trio didn't know any better, they probably would've cooed at him.

However, that only reminded them of the fact that there was a child- a seemingly living, mortal one, at that- in the Underworld.

Sitting on Hades' lap.

After calling him Daddy. Twice.

Naturally this raised an obscene amount of questions, and judging by the glare Hades gave the soldiers, the young boy wasn't meant to be anywhere near the throne room during the meeting.

"What's wrong?" The lord of the dead asked with a surprising gentleness in his tone. His voice was still sharp and rumbling, but it had a softer edge to it. It was obvious that he was genuinely concerned. The boy, who couldn't have been more than nine, burrowed deeper into his father's side, tiny body quaking ceaselessly. He sniffled and mumbled something that sounded vaguely like "Digli che andi via", but again none of the three heroes understood a thing.

"Papà, la casa cominciò a tremare ed era davvero spaventosa, ma non riuscivo a trovare Bianca." He roughly wiped the tears rolling down his own cheeks, now sitting up to face Hades. "Papà, sono così spaventata..." Whatever the kid was saying, it was obviously not good, as a look of guilt soon washed over his father's face.

"Farlo andare via, papà. Farlo andare via..." The god held his son tighter to his chest, and the trio shifted uncomfortably, forgotten. Grover scratched the back of his neck, Percy watched the scene incredulously and Annabeth narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out just who the child was.

"There's no more shaking, Nico. Everything is still, see? Everything is okay. Do you want me to send for Bianca? Here, I'll have someone go get her, hm? Everything is okay." Percy would've loved to pipe up and remind him that everything was not, in fact, okay, but he knew (for once) that it wasn't his place. Nico was still terribly anxious, and he wasn't going to make it worse by interjecting and telling him that war was brewing on the horizon. However, that didn't help shake the unease in the son of Poseidon. He spared a quick glance at Annabeth, and was surprised to find that she still had that calculating expression on, eyebrows furrowed and eyes piercing. If Annabeth didn't recognize Nico, then it was likely that he wasn't from any known myths.

"Mamma...mi manca mamma... " Nico's sobs had died down by then, reduced to tiny hiccups few and far in between. Hades sported a pained countenance at the whispered sentence, and at that point both demigods and the satyr were thinking a mile a minute.

Finally, Nico's crying had subsided completely and he curled up against Hades' side, his father's arm wrapped around him. Nico looked impossibly small like that, ensconced in his father's protective embrace. Hades, after ensuring his son was no longer in tears, turned his glowering stare back at the three visitors.

"As you can see," his voice was low and controlled, making it clear he was trying to suppress his anger in front of Nico. "I have no need- or desire- for war. I do not wish to expand anything, nor do I hope for conflict. I am sure it is apparent that I am very, _very_ concerned with _other_ matters." He stroked his son's hair, as if for emphasis. Upon hearing this, Nico turned his head to meet their gaze, large round eyes roving over all three.

"Hey!" he finally exclaimed, "I've never seen _you_ guys before. Papa, who are they?" Then, as an afterthought, he asked, "Are they alive?" He looked up at his father, dark eyes searching those much like his own for answers. Hades sighed.

"Visitors." Percy wanted to scoff, but figured it would be best to keep his mouth shut. While Nico was no Persephone, Hades had calmed almost immediately once the nine-year-old made his entrance in the throne room. Sure, the god was still angry, but what was once a raging bonfire had simmered down into a low flame, seething just below the skin. It was then that Annabeth cleared her throat.

"So, about our... previous discussion." Hades scowled. Nico appeared puzzled, but remained silent.

"Yes. I do not have the bolt. _You_ do." Percy blinked.

"What?"

"Do not play innocent with me, boy. You were the thief on the winter solstice," he said. "Your father thought to keep you his little secret. He directed you into the throne room on Olympus. You took the master bolt and my helm. Had I not sent my Fury to discover you at Yancy Academy, Poseidon might have succeeded in hiding his scheme to start a war. But now you have been forced into the open. You will be exposed as Poseidon's thief, and I will have my helm back!"

"Lord Hades, your helm is missing, too?" Annabeth asked. Percy could tell her mind was working a million miles an hour.

"Do not play innocent with me, girl. You and the satyr have been helping this hero- coming here to threaten me in Poseidon's name, no doubt- to bring me an ultimatum. Does Poseidon think I can be blackmailed into supporting him?" The entire time, Nico watched the transgression, head turning back and forth between the two parties as if observing a tennis match.

"You took daddy's helmet?" For the second time that day, everyone's attention was on Nico. He was so quiet for once, so small, that they had nearly forgotten that he was there. Percy locked eyes with the kid, who despite seeming innocent, gave him a look that felt like it was pulling out his soul. Hades' lips twisted into a frown.

"Yes," he answered for them. "They took it, and now they're pretending that they don't have it." Nico frowned too, though it came out as more of a pout.

"Stealing is wrong! You have to give it back," the child demanded. His eyes never left Percy's, which honestly freaked the son of Poseidon out a bit. "Mama told me that it's bad. What would your mama say if she knew?" A sharp pang spread through Percy's heart when he was forced to think of his mother. He clenched his fists so tight they nearly drew blood.

"I didn't steal anything," Percy managed, "And my mom is gone." Hades scoffed at the denial, and Nico's brows furrowed. Slowly, the son of Hades slid off the throne, his father watching him carefully.

"Gone? So..." Nico's gaze turned sympathetic. "Is she dead too?" Percy could've sobbed at the words, but he didn't. Nico stepped closer, and Annabeth and Grover tensed. He might not look like much, but one thing they've learned was that looks could be terribly deceiving.

"You- your mom's..." Percy didn't want to finish that sentence, but he didn't have to. Nico smiled wryly, and held out his hand. They didn't know when he got so close he could touch them, but he was. "What?"

"Your hand," he said. "Gimme your hand."

"Why?" Nico huffed.

"Do it." Hades' ominous presence behind his son pushed Percy to comply. Nico closed his eyes and sighed. "What's her name?" To say the twelve-year-old was uncomfortable would've been a massive understatement. He tried pulling away, but Nico kept his grip.

"I can help you find her soul." Percy stilled. Hades leaned forward in his seat, remotely amused with his son. "What's her name?" Nico repeated. Unbeknownst to Percy, Nico had always had a bit of natural pull to his father's domain, often playing with his abilities whether he was aware of it or not.

It took him a moment to respond. "Sally," he said. "Sally Jackson." Nico hummed, accepting the answer. Nothing happened for a moment, and Percy was ready to yank his hand away and declare it all a sick joke when the son of Hades' eyes opened, a frown etched into his face.

"She-" He turned back to look at his father, upset. "Papa," he whined.

"What?" Annabeth asked. She found the ritual intriguing, seeing as no one had seen a child of Hades in decades. Percy was glad she said something, because he wasn't sure he could find his voice. "What happened?"

Nico stared at her as if he just noticed she existed. He pouted. "I did all of that for nothing," he said. "She's not dead." Nico crossed his arms over his chest, looking a bit like a spoiled child. "Papa didn't even try to tell me!" He glared at his father in an accusatory nature. Hades met his gaze nonchalantly.

"A test," he said simply. "To see how far you've come." He didn't say if Nico met his standards or not, but the gleam in his eyes was undoubtedly pride. Nico beamed, a complete opposite to his cousin, who bristled.

"No, son of Poseidon, your mother is not dead. In fact, I know you'd like to bargain for her." Hades loosed a ball of gold fire from his palm. It exploded on the steps in front of Percy, and there was his mother, frozen in a shower of gold, just as she was at the moment when the Minotaur began to squeeze her to death. Percy couldn't speak. He reached out to touch her, but the light was as hot as a bonfire.

'Yes," Hades said with satisfaction. "I took her. I knew, Percy Jackson, that you would come to bargain with me eventually. Return my helm, and perhaps i will let her go. She is not dead, as you know. Not yet. But if you displease me, that will change." There was a soft gasp, and Hades sighed.

"Come on out, Bianca." He said, rubbing his temples. Why was it that whenever he said or did something serious, there was always a child hanging around to interrupt? The shadows behind him condensed, and a little girl fell out with a small cry, looking only a year younger than Percy and Annabeth. She scrambled up and smiled sheepishly at Hades, who met her gaze bemusedly. Nico ran over to her, exclaiming "Bianca!" and wrapping her in his thin arms.

Meanwhile, Percy thought about the pearls in his pocket. As odd as this encounter was, his mind was still stuck on his mother. Maybe they could get out of this. If he could just get his mom free...

"Ah, the pearls, Hades said, and Percy's blood froze. "Yes, my brother and his little tricks. Bring them forth, Percy Jackson." His hand moved against his will and brought out the pearls.

"Only three," Hades said. "What a shame. You do realize each only protects a single person. But no matter, because I do not intend to let you leave." Hades flicked a finger, and the pearls shot out of Percy's hand and into the god's. "You see," he began, "I really would've let you go- or at least your friends- had you returned my helm and left hastily. However, you took too long, and now you've seen both of my children. No word of my missing helm or my son and daughter can ever leave the Underworld."

The skeleton guards pointed their weapons, and the trio got into fighting stances. "I would apologize, but I'm not sorry. These will be a wonderful addition to my wife's garden, I am sure." He clenched his hand and the pearls disappeared.

"Dad, what're you doing?" Bianca asked, confused. She'd never seen her father act this way. Hades waved his hand dismissively.

"Never mind, Bianca. Take Nico and go play." The soldiers had advanced on the trio, who had backed up against each other as a makeshift defense. Bianca saw this, and panicked.

"Stop!" She yelled, gripping Nico tighter. The soldiers hesitated, unsure of what to do anymore. The Lord of the Underworld growled.

"Bianca, this is business. They stole from me, and they saw you. This must be done." The warriors charged again, and managed to capture the three. The daughter of Hades frowned. She'd never fought with her father before, but this... something about this seemed so wrong. Bianca was no mind reader, but she prided herself in being able to read the levels of sincerity in people, a trait that Persephone had commented on more than once. They didn't feel like thieves.

"Dad, if they stole from you, where is it?" Everything froze, and Percy made eye contact with her, an earnest light in his eyes. The message was clear. _'Yes, convince him. Please, I'm innocent. Make him listen to you.'_

"They have the bolt right here," Hades snapped, eyes narrowed. He wasn't used to either of his children acting in this manner. One of the skeletons in army fatigues ripped the backpack off Percy and unzipped it, revealing the master bolt. All three questers gasped. When the hell did they get that?

"Percy," Annabeth said, "How-"

"I-I don't know. I don't understand." Bianca watched them carefully, catching each of their gazes. Grover suppressed a bleat when they locked eyes, and Annabeth only hardened her stare.

"So maybe they do have the bolt." Annabeth opened her mouth to interject, but Bianca wasn't finished. "But I see no helm." Hades huffed.

"This matter has nothing to do with you."

"But it does, papa," she said, "Because Nico and I are why you are doing this. You said that they took your helm, and they saw us. So that makes us part of the reason. You want to keep us safe." She turned to their 'guests'. "Which also means that now that you know he wants to protect us, you know he didn't do anything. My dad isn't the problem here. If you think about it, he never has been."

"As much as I appreciate your input, daughter, that solves nothing." Bianca shrugged.

"Sure it does. Make them find the helm. In return for Percy's mother back." They all stared at her incredulously, which she tried to match evenly. But her discomfort was evident, as was the fact that she'd never bargained with someone's life before.

"I don't know what this helm is, but I know my dad really, really needs it. Just like you really need your mom. So the only way to make sure you'll really do it is for your mom, right? She'll stay here with us until then." Bianca shifted, trying to hide her hands, which were tugging at the hem of her shirt. Nico had long since escaped her embrace, his hyperactive mind demanding he do something.

* * *

When Percy finally gave the bolt to Zeus on Olympus, he didn't know to feel relieved or worried. He'd fought Ares on the beach, retrieved Hades' helm of darkness, escaped the press- all in a single day. But his mind was stuck on his visit to the Underworld. He had cousins- two of them, just hanging around in the Underworld.

He wanted to ask about them, why they weren't allowed to be in the world of the living, why they needed to be such a big secret- but they made him swear on the River Styx that he wouldn't breathe a single word about it with anyone who wasn't on the quest. He also wanted to know why gods weren't allowed to steal weapons directly, nor help their children directly, yet raise them full-time; that didn't make any sense.

What made it even more confusing, was when he got back to camp and asked Annabeth, who told him that gods actually _weren't_ supposed to raise their children.

"They're not supposed to get involved," she had told him. "That's against ancient laws. They might stop by, or stay with their mortal parent until they're born, but that's it- then they leave."

"Then why is Hades raising two kids?" Percy asked. "What gave him that idea? And why are they such a big secret?" Annabeth shrugged. She didn't know, and she hated that.

"I don't know why he's raising them, but I'll bet you that's why they're a secret. He's breaking ancient laws, and he doesn't want anyone to know." Percy would've pondered on it more, but at that point he didn't care. He just wanted to go home and see his mother again, who'd been released as promised.

All of these things were something to worry about later, at a time that they'd probably come back to bite him in the ass. But until then, he would forget about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know certain parts were (for the most part) exactly from the book, since I literally had the Lightning Thief open as I typed this. That's the point- it's close to canon minus the minor (soon to be major) plot diversion. Certain things aren't going to change despite the divergence, because things like inner musings and the way people speak can't be affected by things like this. Just saying.
> 
> Got some Italian in here again. You know the drill.
> 
> Digli che andi via - Tell it to go away  
> Papà, la casa cominciò a tremare ed era davvero spaventosa, ma non riuscivo a trovare Bianca - daddy, the house was shaking and it was really scary, but I couldn't find Bianca  
> Papà, sono così spaventata - daddy, I'm so scared  
> Farlo andare via, papà. Farla andare via - Make it stop, daddy. Make it stop
> 
> So I just realized I never put in Nico's and Bianca's training montages, but honestly unless someone requests it I probably will leave it to your imaginations. Anyway, stale ending but I hope you liked it!


	10. Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been nearly two years since Percy met his cousins in the Underworld. He and Thalia are at Camp Half-Blood. But trouble is on the horizon, and soon he and the other demigods are in need of help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sidenote: don't mind the awkward Shakespearean attempt ;-; I know it sucked, but you get the idea, right? I hope.

Percy knew it was gonna be a long day when Thalia appeared at his doorstep, eyes sharp and palms shaking.

"Annabeth is missing," she said, and soon Percy has a backpack slung over his shoulder and he's on his way to Camp on a Pegasus.

When they arrived, Percy had jumped off Blackjack before he'd touched the ground, causing the horse to whinny in protest. _'Hey, what was that for?'_ The son of Poseidon ignored him in favor of rushing over to the crowd gathering near the tree, clearly expecting them.

"What happened?" He demanded immediately. Chiron stood in front of him in full centaur form, but the fourteen-year-old had no qualms looking up to stare him dead in the eyes. The trainer of heroes looked far wearier than usual, even with his arms crossed over his chest and a bow and quiver strapped to his back like he was preparing for war. Behind them, Thalia had just landed on her own Pegasus, appearing all too glad to be back on the ground as she nearly scrambled off the winged horse to meet the earth beneath her feet. The Pegasus, Porkpie, whinnied in indignation. The daughter of Zeus pat it comfortingly, despite looking greener than the grass below her.

Chiron sighed. "Annabeth was taken," He explained. Percy growled, the answer not enough for him.

"Yeah, yeah, I get _that_ much. But by _who?_ " Chiron shook his head, and Percy stomped the ground with one foot, pissed beyond belief.

"Come," The centaur said softly, "Let us discuss this inside." Chiron coaxed the two plus the cabin counselors into the Big House, sending Thalia a sympathetic look as she ran ahead in search for the bathrooms.

* * *

"She was on her way here. She was apparently in a hurry, but we're not sure why." Percy frowned.

"If she wasn't here yet, then how do you know?"

"I took a nap. Saw it happen. Should've known midday naps were a bad idea." Everyone turned to watch as Thalia returned from the restroom, yanking out a seat for herself before plopping onto it. She leaned back once she did, but anyone could tell she wasn't comfortable at all.

"I couldn't see who did it. Looked like it was through their point of view of something," She scowled, clenching her fists.

"We need a quest," Percy said.

"Percy-"

"What? We need a quest, Chiron. No way am I just letting her disappear like this. Who knows what they're doing to her?" A few murmurs went through the ring of demigods, and Chiron closed his eyes.

"Percy, I understand how you feel. But we cannot just call for a quest and send people out. We at least cannot decide without the rest of the Camp's input." More muttering, and even a call of 'this is a democracy!" rang out somewhere to Percy's left, sounding suspiciously like one of the Stolls.

"Then let's go out and ask them now! Why not?"

"Why should we? Maybe the braniac's just gotten into something stupid again. Why should we care?" Clarisse scoffed, and Percy growled. Thalia's fingers crackled with electricity as she glared at the daughter of Ares.

"Annabeth's no idiot," she snarled, meeting Clarisse's gaze. "She's not gonna 'get into something stupid' like _you_ do, _dumbass,_ " Clarisse shot up from her seat, jabbing her dagger into the pool table.

" _What did you say to me,_ you little-" Chiron cleared his throat.

"That's enough, everyone." His voice was soft but stern, and it washed over everyone in the room. "We will discuss this with everyone else during dinnertime." he decided. "If they wish to start a quest, then we will. But until then, you are all dismissed." There were grumblings throughout the admittedly tiny council as everyone got up to leave. Meanwhile, Percy's stomach began to churn. What if they never got her back? Why would anyone take her, anyway? Where was she being held? Who took her in the first place? The questions started to swim in his brain and make it ache, so he headed to his own cabin to Iris-Message his mother about the new development.

* * *

All in all, the camp was already in a pretty terrible mood, and the news of Annabeth's disappearance made things worse- Annabeth was a cabin counselor, and the thought of the Athena cabin being without their most experienced member during brewing war times brought unease throughout the general ambience of the camp. Then the girls in silver parkas came around.

When Percy first saw them gathering above the hill, right by Peleus, he thought they were a really lost all-age dance crew from some prep school or something. The ones where they wear matching costumes and wave around fake guns and swords, but instead of guns and swords there were bows and arrows, and they were far more disgruntled than the average girls' dance team. They also had hunting wolves, which, despite being unusual, were most likely not part of some avant-garde routine, and their weapons were actual weapons. The leader stood at the front of their formation, arms crossed and nose jutting into the air.

"Our Lady Artemis hath sent us," she said. Her voice had some strange accent, like Old English or something. Aside from her accent or her weird choice of words, she looked to be about Percy's age, perhaps a year or two older, and had a strange silver glow about her. They all did, for that matter. Something about their presence struck Percy as immortal, but no matter how hard he wracked his brain, he couldn't remember Artemis ever having an entourage in Greek mythology. As far as he remembered, she was the loner type, and had only ever kept the company of that one guy who Percy couldn't recall the name of. Something to do with a belt, or whatever.

Before anyone could ask any questions though, Thalia let out a noise somewhere between a snarl and a grunt. "You," she hissed, which startled Percy. The leader looked over at the daughter of Zeus with much disdain.

"Ah, so we meet again, Thalia Grace. How terribly unfortunate." There was a cruel twist to her lips when she added, "And how does the boy fair? Luke, was it? Oh, _wait._ " She spat out his name like acid, and the demigods shifted uncomfortably at the name. The Hermes children scowled, and one or two of them reached for their belts, as if about to draw their blades. Thalia looked ready to shoot her down with some lightning, Zeus style, when Chiron cleared his throat.

"Hunters," he began, "It has been a while since your last visit. I trust your lady is alright?" He asked, always the cordial one. The 'hunters' still looked ready for a fight, but seemed marginally stifled in front of a welcoming face. Only marginally, though. The leader nodded stiffly.

"Yes. Milady has caught notions of an old beast awakening, and has decided to go after it herself." At this point, Percy was getting impatient. As much as he enjoyed sitting around not understanding what this girl was saying instead of actively trying to find Annabeth, his mind was swirling and he was sure he had better things to do. Namely, _actively trying to find Annabeth._

"Well, that's just swell. Do you think she could send us some help while she's at it? 'Cause we've kinda got more important things to do here." All the girls' gazes turned to him at once. In all honesty, Percy probably would've been intimidated- if he'd given a damn, that is.

* * *

It was a while before everyone had eaten and then settled down. For whatever reason, no one could decide whether or not Annabeth's disappearance was worth appointing a quest for. Percy initially wanted to go back home for the evening, but Blackjack was way too tired, and Percy knew he was going to come back as soon as possible the next day, so there really wasn't any point in leaving. In retrospect, he was glad he chose to stay.

Percy had fallen asleep. Don't ask him how, especially with all the buzzing his mind had been doing since he learned that Annabeth was kidnapped. But he'd managed it, and he truly regretted doing so. He had a nightmare, and even by his standards it was a whopper.

Annabeth was on a dark hillside, shrouded in fog. It almost seemed like the Underworld, because he immediately felt claustrophobic and he couldn't see the sky above- just a close, heavy darkness, as if he were in a cave.

Annabeth struggled up the hill. Old broken Greek columns of black marble were scattered around, as though something had blasted a huge building to rums. "Hey!" Annabeth cried. "Where are you? Why did you bring me here?" She scrambled over a section of broken wall and came to the crest of the hill. She gasped.

There was Luke. And he was in pain.

He was crumpled on the rocky ground, trying to rise. The blackness seemed to be thicker around him, fog swirling hungrily. His clothes were in tatters and his face was scratched and drenched with sweat.

"Annabeth!" he called. "Help me! Please!"

She ran forward.

Percy tried to cry out: _He's a traitor! Don't trust him!_

But his voice didn't work in the dream.

Annabeth had tears in her eyes. She reached down like she wanted to touch Luke's face, but at the last second she hesitated.

"What happened?" she asked.

"They left me here," Luke groaned. "Please. It's killing me." Percy couldn't see what was wrong with Luke. He seemed to be struggling against some invisible curse, as though the fog were squeezing him to death.

"Why should I trust you?" Annabeth asked. Her voice was filled with hurt.

"You shouldn't," Luke said. "I've been terrible to you. But if you don't help me, I'll die."

 _Let him die,_ Percy wanted to scream. Luke had tried to kill them in cold blood too many times. He didn't deserve anything from Annabeth.

Then the darkness above Luke began to crumble, like a cavern roof in an earthquake. Huge chunks of black rock began falling. Annabeth rushed in just as a crack appeared, and the whole ceiling dropped. She held it somehow- tons of rock. She kept it from collapsing on her and Luke just with her own strength. It was impossible. She shouldn't have been have been able to do that.

Luke rolled free, gasping. "Thanks," he managed.

"Help me hold it," Annabeth groaned.

Luke caught his breath. His face was covered in grime and sweat. He rose unsteadily.

"I knew I could count on you." He began to walk away as the trembling blackness threatened to crush Annabeth.

" _Help me!_ " she pleaded.

"Oh, don't worry," Luke said. "Your help is on the way. It's all part of the plan. In the meantime, try not to die."

The ceiling began to crumble again, pushing Annabeth against the ground.

When he woke up sweaty and eyes bulging, he didn't think about he was doing. His body went on autopilot as he flung the covers off his body, jumped out of bed, and made his way over to the new fountain in his cabin. He hardly registered throwing in the drachma, and it was only after the words "The di Angelos" tumbled out that his mind started to clear once more. In front of him, the mist shifted, changing colors and expanding until it gave a clear view of the Underworld's beloved duo.

* * *

Nico was quite hard at work, trying to keep up with the grey apparition. The spirit thrust his spear at him once more, and Nico jumped out of the way. Had he been a second slower, and the spear real, he very well would've ended up without a lung. "Too slow," the soldier boomed. Nico furrowed his brows, feeling the sweat accumulating above it. He wanted to whine and ask for a break, but the last time he did, the warrior only pushed harder. No thanks.

"You put too much energy into evading," the man snapped. "You are a small, skinny boy. Your steps are far bigger than you. Use your _size!_ " on the last word, he swung his spear to the side, much like a sword. Nico yelped and ducked. He was vaguely certain that that wasn't how one would wield a spear, but the ghost didn't seem to mind at all. He remembered the first time he'd pointed something like that out, which only served to anger the Spartan more. Apparently, monsters didn't play fair, so neither would he. Nico thought that sucked, but was quickly bombarded with more attacks, and the matter was instantly dropped.

"You are too weak for a boy of eleven. Eleven in Sparta is four years in training. You have had nearly _none!_ " At this point, the Spartan jabbed at Nico, this time aiming for his windpipe. Nico sidestepped, ending up closer to the hoplite. On instinct, the young demigod swung his Stygian iron sword. Had the hoplite been alive, the blade would've cut him clean through the middle. As it was, he was a mere apparition and thus only blurred around the area for a split second, before melding back together as if it never happened. The soldier rested his dory beside him, giving Nico an analytic stare.

"Better than before," he conceded, before adding, "but still not good enough." Nico nearly yelled in frustration. He wanted a _break_. He hadn't played with or even _seen_ his Mythomagic cards in nearly _three whole hours!_ Plus, he was _starving_. Just as the half-blood was about to give into all these thoughts and complain, lecture be damned, something seemed to catch the eye of the Spartan before him.

"It seems that is enough for now," he said, minutely distracted but equally as miffed at cutting their session short. "You appear to be needed elsewhere." The spirit disappeared. Nico turned to see just what he was talking about. Behind him on a bench sat Bianca, a towel hung around her neck and her elbows resting on parted knees like a boxer in a ring. It appeared that she was also taking a break, and for the same reason. Beside her was an image of some sort- Nico wasn't quite sure just how else he'd describe it.

The image was of someone standing almost expectantly in a deep blue t-shirt. It was clear, even from afar, that they were agitated. Once he got closer, however, he recognized them.

* * *

"Percy," Nico said, entering the Iris Message. Percy bit his bottom lip in thought, taking in the sight of the two. He hadn't seen or heard from either of them since the first disastrous encounter when he was twelve during the summer solstice. That had been two years ago, and now both Nico and Bianca were clearly changing. For one, they were now two years older, Bianca being thirteen and Nico eleven. For another, it was apparent that they'd started training at least sometime within the past year, if the tentative muscles and thick layer of sweat soaking their black workout clothes were anything to go by.

Nico sheathed his sword and dropped himself in a seat. Bianca, after giving a silent greeting to her brother, refocused her eyes on the son of Poseidon.

"What's going on?" It was an awfully odd thing to say, Bianca knew. They only met once two years before, and their entire encounter consisted of Percy breaking into their castle and demanding his mother back, along with the near-certain death of him and his friends at their father's hands. But there really wasn't anything else for her to say. What _do_ you say to your cousin, who's mother your father kidnapped as ransom for a magical helm of invisibility and darkness?

But if Percy found it too strange, he didn't point it out. Instead, he stared at them with a look neither sibling could decipher. "Remember when I was down there, and you found my mom?" Bianca wanted to know what he was getting at. Was his mother missing again? They knew for sure this time that they had nothing to do with it. At the very least, she wasn't in their kingdom, whether dead or alive. Nico leaned forward.

"Sure, if that's what you call it. I mean, there wasn't much to find- she was there the whole time." Nico shrugged. Since his feet still didn't touch the floor yet, he swung them absently.

"But you could track her." Nico's brows furrowed.

"Well, yeah, I guess. It was more like a tug inside, or a mind-path, but I guess it does the same thing anyway. Why? What happened? Is she missing again? 'Cause then it's really not our fault. She's definitely not here. I know what her signature is, so no way." Nico tried his best to explain with his eleven-year-old vocabulary, while also trying to glean new information. He was incredibly curious, and the look of what was perhaps best described as 'mild constipation' made it very apparent to Bianca that he was bursting with more questions. Percy sighed wearily, but there was a tone of frustration there too.

"No, but Annabeth... Annabeth is." At the deadpan look the two gave, Percy elaborated. "Annabeth Chase. She was the girl who came with me on the quest." Bianca nodded slowly, connecting the dots. She remembered the girl, and despite Annabeth not saying much, Bianca found her determination and skill rather admirable. It would be a shame for something to happen to her. Percy shifted uncomfortably and took a deep breath.

"Look. Could you just... could you please just take a look? I-I just had a dream and I- I don't know if she's even..." he choked, and both siblings softened. The children of Hades exchanged stares before Bianca sighed and grunted, as if in resignation.

"You want to know if I can track her?" Nico asked. Percy appeared grateful that Nico finished for him. He nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, that'd be pretty awesome."

Nico hummed thoughtfully. His sister quirked an eyebrow, wondering why he was even pretending to contemplate his answer. The eleven-year-old tilted his head and gave noise of approval.

"Alright. Here." He stuck out a hand, obviously waiting for his cousin to take it. The son of Poseidon coughed.

"Uh, Nico," he began, "This is an Iris Message. We can't actually touch. It'll break the mist." Nico appeared inconvenienced more than fazed.

"Oh," he said. "Well, how about..." Percy blinked, unsure what to do when he noticed the shadows near the rainbow message condensing and pulling together like a magical black hole. Suddenly, a thin, spindly arm stuck out of the darkness, its pale palm open and waiting. "There. Take my hand." Percy grasped the tiny hand, trying not to draw back at the deathly cold touch and the general notion that the hand looked pretty dead.

This time, Nico didn't need to close his eyes, but his gaze did appear to glaze over, and he looked as if he were staring at something far beyond them. He let out a low hum, searching. After a few moments, Percy attempted to fill the silence. "So... do you really need to hold my hand?" he asked. Nico seemed to focus on him, but only fractionally. The youngest grinned.

"Nah," he said cheekily. Percy blinked, unsure how to respond, and Bianca snorted. "But it does help," Nico amended. "I don't really know her too well, so it's harder to grasp her signature without a physical tie of some sort." After a few moments, his brow furrowed.

"What?" Percy demanded. "What's wrong?" Nico pulled his hand back, a puzzled expression on his face. He crossed his arms.

"I'm not too sure," he murmured, lost in thought. "I can definitely tell she's alive, but..."

"But?" Percy said desperately. He was insanely relieved to find she wasn't dead, but the lingering tone freaked him out. What was wrong?

"But, she's in a lot of pain," Nico finished. "Like, so much strain is being put on her that it's threatening her life..." Percy's heart sank. To make matters worse, Nico wasn't done.

"And?" Percy coaxed, beginning to feel like single words were all he could say. Nico hesitated, before sighing.

" _And,_ " the demigod relented, "I can't tell where she is." Nico scowled and sat back on his haunches, feeling helpless. "I dunno why. I can feel her existence above the Underworld, but... it's like it's just hovering. Like hearing a noise that you can't find the source of. You know it's there, you know what's making it, but you don't know _where._ " Nico shrugged and apologized, but Percy didn't hear him. His mind felt like it was swimming yet numb. As if someone took a balloon, filled it with water and just enough air for it to slosh around, and then shoved it into his skull where his brain should've been.

"Well, there you go," Bianca said, snapping the son of Poseidon from his reverie. "Look, Percy, I'm sorry. I really am. But from what I can tell, there isn't even a quest, and if Nico can't find her, then I certainly can't. And since we can't even go to the surface, this is probably the extent of our help. I really hope you find her, but that's all we can do. Good luck, Percy." Her younger brother looked ready to protest, but held his tongue after the furtive glance Bianca sent him. Behind them, Percy could see two shimmering ghosts in Spartan armor appear, arms crossed and clearly waiting for the Underworld duo.

"Yeah," Percy murmured. "Thanks." Bianca gave him what was probably a sympathetic, perhaps even pitying smile, while Nico waved awkwardly. The oldest of the two swiped the air with her hand. The Iris Message dissipated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! I'm so sorry for the wait. But if it's any consolation, I've already got the next chapter planned and started. The dream sequence is almost entirely from the actual book by the way- other than like two words. I wanted to keep it as close to canon as possible, so I wrote a chunk of canon. :) This chapter was honestly supposed to be way longer (considering the chapter summary), but I decided that I've held onto this for so long and it was a decent enough size, so I figured I'd just update it as it is now and then continue right where I left off in the next chapter.  
> Sorry if Percy is ooc, by the way! I tried hard to make sure he stayed in character, but for some reason I seem to have a terrible grasp on his personality. I guess it's cause I've always had his actions and thoughts handed to me that I never had to think about it, but still that's no excuse for an ooc Percy. -.-'


	11. The Prophecy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hunters make themselves as comfortable as they can in camp. A prophecy is given, and Percy is more ready to tear his hair out than ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry late Christmas! Since it's winter break for me, I took the liberty of ignoring the rest of the universe to finish this. Sorry for the wait, and hopefully you'll enjoy!  
> Warning: little to no editing. I literally posted this right after finishing it.

It was about an hour after the Iris Message that Percy heard the horn blow outside. He somehow managed to motivate himself enough to head over to the lake where the rest of the campers were gathering, figuring he needed to keep his mind off it for the time being. It was Capture the Flag night, and the son of Poseidon was hoping to blow off some steam.

The game itself was rather standard and uneventful and the whole time Percy was trying his hardest not to be disappointed whenever the leaves would rustle and he would expect Annabeth to hop out, pulling off her invisibility cap. It made him a bit more aggressive in the end, knowing that the noise was either wind or a woodland creature of some sort instead of his best (demigod) friend, so Percy figured he should've expected the fight with Thalia over losing the flag (though Percy still maintains that he could've won anyway).

But out of all the 'uneventful' things that had happened, there was one memorable thing that made it worth it- the prophecy. Not only did they get one from the oracle, but she decided to take a nice stroll and approach them herself- something not even Chiron's ever seen her do.

When she arrived at the river none of them dared move. Then, her voice hissed inside Percy's head. Apparently she was doing it to everyone, because several clutched their hands over their ears.

 _I am the spirit of Delphi,_ the voice said. _Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python._

The Oracle regarded Percy with its cold, dead eyes. Then she turned unmistakably toward Zoe Nightshade. _Approach, Seeker, and ask._

Zoe swallowed. "What must I do to help my goddess?"

The Oracle's mouth opened, and green mist poured out. Percy saw the vague image of a mountain, and a girl standing at the barren peak. It was Artemis, but she was wrapped in chains, fettered to the rocks. She was kneeling, her hands raised as if to fend off an attacker, and it looked like she was in pain. The Oracle spoke.

_Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,_

_Angels shall ascend in the land without rain,_

_The bane of Olympus shows the trail,_

_Campers and Hunters combined prevail,_

_The Titan's curse must one withstand,_

_And one shall perish by a parent's hand._

Then, as they were watching, the mist swirled and retreated like a great green serpent into the mummy's mouth. The Oracle sat down on a rock and became as still as she'd been in the attic, as if she might sit by that creek for a hundred years.

* * *

Percy will admit; he was a bit miffed that he hadn't been given the prophecy.

After all, he'd been the one clamoring for a quest that whole time, whereas the Hunters were completely content with throwing dirty looks-and boys- over their shoulders at every turn, unwilling to cooperate in the slightest (ignoring how quickly they agreed to play capture-the-flag with everyone else). To add insult to injury he and Grover were the ones elected to carry the Oracle back to the attic. Not only that, but not a single word throughout the prophecy mentioned Annabeth to any degree. It both aggravated and worried Percy incessantly. He ignored the stray memory of his mother warning him that too much stress would give him grey hair.

It wouldn't have bothered him if he still had a chance of going on that quest; as pushy and bullheaded (not his words) as he may have been, Percy was never the type to _want_ to be leader. Usually, it just happened. However, with the Hunters (specifically Zoe) leading the quest, he knew there was no way in Hades he would be chosen as part of the quest party. They'd probably rather denounce their silver parkas.

So by the time Thalia came upstairs to tell Grover to tell Percy (as she was apparently no longer on speaking terms with him) to come down from the attic for a council meeting, his expectations were already pretty low.

* * *

Zoe had already started the meeting off on a positive note by absolutely refusing any sort of help from any of the campers and insisting that her and her Hunters traveling west (a vague, half-baked plan if Percy ever heard one) would suffice for the quest. Chiron and Thalia were able to reason with her, reminding her that it was part of the prophecy that both campers _and_ Hunters would leave for the quest, along with the possible consequences of trying to ignore one of the only clear bits of a prophecy.

They all established that they only had a week to find Artemis, in order to bring her back in time for the meeting at the winter solstice, and that they needed to find the monster she was hunting. It was when they moved onto trying to make sense of the prophecy and who should be going with Zoe that the problems arose.

"Three and two," Percy said.

Everybody looked at him, even Thalia, in the second that it took for her to forget she was ignoring him. "We're supposed to have five," Percy explained, already feeling self-conscious from the attention. "Three Hunters, two campers. That's more than fair."

Zoe and Thalia exchanged looks.

"Well," Thalia said. "That does make sense."

Zoe grunted. "I would prefer to take _all_ the Hunters. We will need strength in numbers."

"You'll be retracing the goddess' path," Chiron reminded her. "Moving quickly. No doubt Artemis tracked the scent of this rare monster, whatever it is, as she moved west. You will have to do the same. The prophecy was clear: _the bane of Olympus shows the trail._ What would your mistress say? 'Too many Hunters spoil the scent.' A small group is best."

Zoe picked up a Ping-Pong paddle and studied it like she was deciding who she wanted to whack first. "This monster- the bane of Olympus. I have hunted at Lady Artemis' side for many years, yet I have no idea what this beast might be."

Everybody looked at Dionysus, possibly because he was the only god present and gods were supposed to know things (keyword: supposed). He was flipping through a wine magazine, but when everyone got silent he glanced up. "Well, don't look at me. I'm a _young_ god, remember? I don't keep track of all those ancient monsters and dusty titans. They make for terrible party conversation."

"Chiron," Percy said, "you don't have any ideas about the monster?"

Chiron pursed his lips. "I have several ideas, none of them good. And none of them quite make sense. Typhon, for instance, could fit this description. He was truly a bane of Olympus. Or the sea monster Keto. But if either of these were stirring, we would know it. They are ocean monsters the size of skyscrapers. Your father, Poseidon, would already have sounded the alarm. I fear this monster may be more elusive. Perhaps even more powerful."

"That's some serious danger you're facing," Connor Stoll said. Percy liked how he said 'you' and not 'we'. "It sounds like at least one of the five are going to die."

" _And one shall perish by a parent's hand,_ " Beckendorf said. "Anybody piss off their godly parent lately?"

There was heavy silence around the table.

Percy glanced at Thalia and wondered if she was thinking the same thing he was. Years ago, Chiron had had a prophecy about the next child of the Big Three- Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades- who turned sixteen. Supposedly, that kid would make a decision that would save or destroy the gods forever. Because of hat, the Big Three had taken an oath after World War II not to have any more kids. But Thalia and Percy- not to mention a certain pair of siblings in the Underworld- were born anyway, with both of the former being close to sixteen.

Percy remembered a conversation he had the year before with Annabeth. He'd asked her, "If I'm so potentially dangerous, why don't the gods just kill me?"

 _Some of the gods would like to kill you,_ she'd said.  _But they're afraid of offending Poseidon._

Could an Olympian parent turn against their half-blood child? Would it sometimes be easier just to let them die? If there were ever any half-bloods who needed to worry about that, it was Thalia and Percy. He wondered if maybe he should've sent Poseidon that seashell pattern tie for Father's Day after all.

"And what about _the Titan's curse must one withstand?_ " Silena asked. "What could that mean?"

Percy saw Chiron and Zoe exchange a nervous look, but whatever they were thinking, they didn't share it.

"Or _Angels shall ascend in the land without rain?_ " Grover added. "Does that mean people are going to die? Or are they describing some kind of monster that's literally going to crawl out of the ground?"

No one knew what to say to that. Finally, someone spoke up. It was Chiron. "There will be death," he decided. "That much we know."

"Oh, goody!" Dionysus said.

Everyone looked at him. He glanced up innocently from the pages of  _Wine Connoisseur_ magazine. "Ah, pinot noir is making a comeback. Don't mind me."

"Percy is right," Silena Beauregard said. "Two campers should go."

"Oh, I see," Zoë said sarcastically. "And I suppose you wish to volunteer?"

Silena blushed. "I'm not going anywhere with the Hunters. Don't look at me!"

"A daughter of Aphrodite that does not wish to be looked at," Zoe scoffed. "What would thy mother say?"

Silena started to get out of her chair, but the Stoll brothers pulled her back.

"Stop it," Beckendorf said. He was a big guy with a bigger voice. He didn't talk much, but when he did, people tended to listen. "Let's start with the Hunters. Which three of you will go?"

Zoe nodded. "I shall go, of course, and I will take Phoebe. She is our best tracker."

"The big girl who likes to hit people on the head?" Travis Stoll asked cautiously.

Zoe nodded.

"The one who put the arrows in my helmet?" Connor added.

"Yes," Zoe snapped, "Why?"

"Oh, nothing," Travis said. "Just that we have a T-shirt for her from the camp store." He held up a big T-shirt that said ARTEMIS THE MOON GODDESS, FALL HUNTING TOUR, 2002, with a huge list of national parks and stuff underneath. "It's a collector's item. She was admiring it. You want to give it to her?"

Percy knew the Stolls were up to something. They always were. But apparently Zoe didn't know them as well as he did. She just sighed and took the T-shirt. "As I was saying, I will take Phoebe. And I wish Naomi to go."

"And for campers?" Chiron asked. His eyes met Percy's, but the demigod couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Me!" Grover stood up so fast he bumped the Ping-Pong table. He brushed cracker crumbs and Ping-Pong ball scraps off his lap. "Anything to help Artemis!"

Zoe wrinkled her nose. "I think not, satyr. You are not even a half-blood."

"But he _is_ a camper," Thalia said. "And he's got a satyr's senses and woodland magic. Can you play a tracker's song yet, Grover?"

"Absolutely!"

Zoe wavered. Percy didn't know what a tracker's song was, but apparently Zoe thought it was a good thing.

"Very well," Zoe said. "And the second camper?"

"I'll go." Thalia stood and looked around, daring anyone to question her.

Now, admittedly, perhaps Percy's math skills weren't the best, but it suddenly occurred to him that they'd reached number five, and Percy wasn't in the group. "Whoa, wait a sec," he said. "I want to go too."

Thalia said nothing. Chiron was still studying Percy. his eyes sad.

"Oh," Grover said, suddenly aware of the problem. "Whoa, yeah, I forgot! Percy has to go. I didn't mean... I'll stay. Percy should go in my place."

"He cannot," Zoe said. "He is a boy. I won't have Hunters traveling with a boy."

"What about Grover?" Percy demanded.

Zoe shook her head. "He does not count. He's a satyr. He is not technically a boy."

"Hey!" Grover protested.

"I _have_ to go," Percy said. "I need to be on this quest."

"Why?" Zoe asked. "Because of thy friend Annabeth?"

The son of Poseidon felt himself blushing. He hated that everyone was looking at him. "Exactly! I get finding Artemis is important and all, but Annabeth is missing too. I need to help her." Nobody rose to his defense. Mr. D looked bored, still reading his magazine. Silena, the Stoll brothers, and Beckendorf were staring at the table. Naomi gave him a look of pity.

"No," Zoe said flatly. "I insist upon this. I will take a satyr if I must, but not a male hero."

Chiron sighed. "The quest is for Artemis. The Hunters should be allowed to approve their companions."

Percy's ears were ringing as he sat down, barely biting back the urge to scream "Screw Artemis, what about Annabeth?" with whatever shred of self-control he had. He knew Grover and some of the others were looking at him sympathetically, but he couldn't meet their eyes. He just sat there as Chiron concluded the council.

"So be it," he said. "Thalia and Grover will accompany Zoe, Naomi, and Phoebe. You shall leave at first light. May the gods"- he glanced at Dionysus- "present company included, we hope- be with you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun duuunnn! A change in prophecy! Well, duh, since a very important someone isn't on this quest, I had to switch things up a bit, including making Naomi go instead. Luckily for me, she was only mentioned once in the series, so I can't really mess up her characterization, lol. Anyway, I know it's probably shorter than you'd like, but I like to think it's a good place to stop. Though, I've realized my promises are useless now, so I won't try to reassure you with a new one coming out soon- cause more than likely I'll hibernate and forget about this all over again. -.-' Hope you had a lovely Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa!


	12. House Arrest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'll update soon, I promise!"
> 
>  
> 
> oops

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Harry Potter.

Nico probably should've been concerned when he saw his father in another Mood again.

However, it was winter, and Persephone was unwell, so Nico just chalked it up to his father being a little stressed from that and continued on with his life. Nico's Mythomagic collection was finally complete, a day he'd waited nearly his entire life for (regardless of how short his life actually was), and he fully intended to show off his now-complete collection to essentially the entirety of the Underworld.

"Lookie," Nico said for the thirtieth time that very evening, "Daddy got me his figurine! Now my collection is complete!' He waved the Hades figurine proudly in Marjorie's face as he babbled on about his beautiful collection. If skeletons could smile, Marjorie would've have the largest grin on her face. As it was, she let out a series of chattering noises that Nico understood to be 'congratulations'. The demigod beamed up at her. "Thanks!" He exclaimed.

The prince of the Underworld already went to visit his dear matrigna, who kindly allowed him to ramble about his sacred Mythomagic cards until even Nico could tell that she was too ill to stay awake. With a kiss to her cheek and a soft smile, Nico wished her sweet dreams and quietly left the room. He also already bothered Bianca about it, who was in a better mood than usual and indulged him in his raving as they made their way to the palace library, a place recently installed for them with the work of undead soldiers. Nico didn't like to read too much and his dyslexia only discouraged him further, but he would still pop in every now and then and enjoy a small novella or two in a show of gratitude.

Mama always said it was important to cherish the gifts you are given, even if you didn't like them.

Anyway, Bianca seemed to like the library a lot more than he did and Nico got to chatter endlessly about his collection until they arrived there. That was when his sister made a beeline for the left side and ripped out a book from a shelf with much zeal.

"What are you reading?" Nico asked, craning his neck to see the cover as Bianca flipped through the pages eagerly. He squinted his eyes, trying to focus on the squirming letters. "Ha...hanny...quo....quoll..." he growled in frustration, a pout forming on his lips out of habit.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," Bianca said automatically. Her eyes scanned the page she was reading, drinking in the words like a man dying of thirst. "It's the final book. It just came out," she explained. When Nico tried to ask another question, Bianca hushed him. "Not now," she said, "I need to know what happens!"

And so Nico left his sister there, curled up in the nearest armchair and reading the pages like it was the only thing that mattered.

* * *

 It wasn't until the evening, when Nico took a break from talking people's ears off and went to eat dinner with Bianca that he started worrying.

They were sitting at the dining table that was much too large for just two (and occasionally four) people, Bianca still wrapped up in her book, when they heard loud arguing from outside the dining hall. The voices were muffled so they couldn't quite understand what was being said, but the siblings could tell that their father was arguing with someone. It got to be so loud that even Bianca looked away from her book to stare curiously at the door, which was being guarded by two skeleton soldiers. The siblings spared a glance at each other before racing over to the doors. The soldiers kept them from opening them but Bianca and Nico could still hear better since their ears were now pressed to the cold, hard wood.

"How in the...stirring...I can't believe-" It was Hades' voice, and judging by the level of irritation in his tone he was probably gesticulating wildly as he yelled. "Escaped?! My _kids-"_ The pair of demigods shared a look when they were mentioned. What was happening? Who escaped? What did it have to do with them? That was when whoever was speaking with Hades- Nico thought it sounded like Alecto- said something rushed but also mildly placating. Hades sighed.

"Yes, of course," the lord of the Underworld groused, "Let us speak of this somewhere else. My children are eating their supper, and we mustn't disturb them." They heard retreating footsteps and the skeleton guards tugged them away from the door and herded them back into their seats.

* * *

Nico was getting ready for bed when Bianca burst into the room, eyes wide and mind racing. "Nico-" she paused, staring at him blankly. Nico blinked.

"What?" He asked, moving to sit cross-legged on the bed. Bianca stared pointedly at his pajamas, and Nico looked down too. What was she staring at?

"Your pajamas," Bianca said, more as a statement than anything else. "Really?" She asked, as if Nico knew what she meant. He didn't.

"What? What's wrong with them?" He suddenly felt self-conscious, frowning down at his skeleton-patterned clothes.

"Nico, they're- _footies_ ," she finally explained. "Like- actual _footies_. You're eleven." Nico scowled defensively and crossed his arms.

"So? They've got skeletons on them. They're my favorite. What's wrong with that?" Bianca shook her head, trying to hold back laughter.

"Nothing, nothing," she reassured him. "It's- cute. Yes, very cute." She declared resolutely. Nico huffed and rolled his eyes.

"Well, what're you here for, anyway? I'm sure you didn't come here just to make fun of my jammies." That snapped Bianca out of it and  she immediately joined him on the bed, eyes wide in urgency.

"Nico, I think there's something wrong," Bianca hissed.

"What do you mean? Wrong with what?" Nico asked eagerly. He scooted closer to his sister in anticipation.

"I'm not really sure yet, but I think with papa's work," she replied. "He's been arguing with the furies all day. I heard them just now in his office. He keeps talking about some 'Great Stirring' and a powerful beast!" Bianca exclaimed. Nico's jaw dropped. Monsters? While both demigods already knew about monsters existing (that's what their training was for, after all), neither of them had ever actually run into one (they didn't like to count Cerberus). The mythical aspects of their lives still amazed them from time to time. Then, Nico caught the first half of her sentence.

"Great Stirring? You mean, like soup?" Nico asked in confusion. What was a 'Great Stirring'? It didn't sound very scary to him.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Bianca answered. "I think maybe the beast is waking up? Like, it was 'stirred awake'? I've heard that before. Stirring can be used like that," she mused.

"Probably," Nico agreed. It certainly made more sense than deadly soup. "But then, what does that have to do with us? Why haven't we seen any monsters crawl up from Tartarus?" At the idea of that, Nico squirmed a bit. It was only a few years ago, after all, that Nico nearly fell in there himself. They were warned the day they moved in to stay as far away from the pit as they could, and Hades even explained what Tartarus was. And yet just a few weeks after Percy's visit to their palace Nico found himself making his way over. He still remembered that deep, rumbling voice beckoning him over, coaxing him into coming to the edge. 'Just for a little bit,' the voice said. 'Just take a peek.' It was like he didn't have control over his own legs for a moment, a tug in his gut pulling him towards the pit. In the back of his head, warning bells were going off, reminding him that Hades said it was off limits. And yet...

If signorina Alecto hadn't swooped down and caught him in time, Nico wouldn't be in the palace, having a conversation with Bianca.

As if recognizing his train of thought, Bianca grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "It's probably because we haven't been anywhere near there in a long time," she suggested. "Also, it's possible that they're not stirring in Tartarus. Or maybe they are, but that's just not where they're coming out of."

"Where else could they be coming from?" Nico asked. Bianca shrugged helplessly.

"Anyway, we'll see how serious it is soon enough," she assured him. "If there was really anything for us to be concerned about, papa will tell us soon enough." With that, she bid her brother a good night and made her way to her own room. Nico went to bed that night, mind still on this new development.

* * *

Their suspicions were confirmed when their father prohibited them from leaving the castle.

"I do not want you two to leave these premises for the time being," he'd said. When Bianca asked why, Hades simply shook his head. "It's not safe right now," he'd told them, and wouldn't elaborate any further.

"Well, there's our answer, I guess," Bianca shrugged, plopping down on the bench next to a perplexed and slightly disappointed Nico.

"Now what?" Nico asked. Bianca sighed.

"I dunno. What do you usually do when you're not outside?" A wicked grin took over her little brother's face, and she groaned.

"Nico, no. I don't wanna play Mythomagic." Nico pouted.

"And why not? It's something to do! You asked, anyway." Nico pulled his cards out of his pocket (he never went anywhere without his precious cards), and began shuffling them.

"Because, Mythomagic is _boring_ , and I wanna do something fun."

"Well fine, then," Nico sniffed, getting up from the stone bench. "I'll go find my Mythomagic buddies, who _love_ Mythomagic and know that it's _not_ boring, and you can just sit here and stare at matrigna's flowers all day." With that, the little boy ran off to find some nice undead servants to play with.

Bianca pouted a little, thinking hard on what to do. She couldn't visit her matrigna because she already did so that morning and Persephone was all tucked out. She supposed she could find some books, but...

She wanted to do something else for once.

Groaning, Bianca got up to go wander around the palace, hoping for something to entertain her.

* * *

Over the course of a full week, the two demigods were forced to entertain themselves in a myriad of ways. Their favorite times were when Persephone was feeling well enough to join them in the garden, where they'd all tend to the flowers and talk and play around. They pretended to not notice how stressed out their father was, simply because he refused to tell them what was wrong anyway. All they'd managed to gather was that a lot of terrible monsters were awakening, including one that made Hades and his fellow gods and goddesses very, very nervous.

They continued their combat training, and schooling as well. Nico, personally, would like the whole world to know that Albert Einstein was actually a terrible, terrible teacher, mostly because Nico couldn't keep up with half of the things the man said anyway. In fact, he honestly believed geniuses and prodigies made terrible teachers across the board, because Raphael and Galileo weren't any better.

Nico and Bianca could both agree that school was stupid anyway, so they didn't understand why they needed it since they were planning on just living their lives in the Underworld. Of course, they knew that at some point they were going to have to go up to the surface (no matter how much they didn't want to), since their father didn't want to keep them locked up forever (yes he did. They'd be less likely to die in the Underworld, as ironic as it was). Apparently, being around only undead souls and immortal gods and goddesses (plus the occasional monster) was 'unhealthy'.

Nico didn't know what Hades could possibly mean.

Still, Hades' decision was final. Besides, it wasn't like they had to stay in the living world forever. They could live in the Underworld and visit the living world, or vice versa, or something in between. That was up to them. The only thing they couldn't do was stay in the Underworld forever.

Phooey.

During their week of house arrest, they would occasionally get IM visits from their ever-so-beloved cousin Percy, the very sea-spawn himself (Hades' words, not theirs). Most of the time it was to get a status report on Annabeth's vitals. Each time they'd assure him that she was still alive, just untraceable. Bianca still couldn't believe that Percy actually ran away from camp just to travel cross-country to _possibly_ find the girl that he _totally_ didn't like.

Sometimes, he'd call for advice or input on certain things, like that one time after some battle with a bunch of undead warriors that him and the other travelers barely got away from. The di Angelos, having trained with spartoi before, explained to him that they actually used them to spar since they'll just put themselves back together each time they're cut down. The only way they'd ever get them to stop was by commanding them to. As children of Hades, the spartoi had to obey them. Also, Nico made friends with some of them (he'd found them to actually be very witty and fun to throw parties with), so they essentially listened to him out of their own volition.

Percy seemed a bit crestfallen at that, if not slightly in awe. "That would've been really helpful," he'd told them, "I kinda wish you were here." It came out a bit awkward, since they still weren't very close, but neither child of Hades minded. Rather, Bianca got an odd, faraway look in her eyes after he said it. She appeared to mull over the thought, well after their call had ended. Nico didn't know what she was planning, but whatever it was, he wanted in on the adventure.

He'd told her so, and she laughed. "I'm not planning anything, fratello," she'd said. Liar. He knew that she was definitely planning something, and they both knew exactly what the other was thinking.

Still, Nico said nothing other than, "I expect you to tell me a day early." Bianca smiled noncommittally.

"Whatever you say."

It seemed they might be returning a lot sooner than anyone had thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Don't worry," she said, "I'm already on it," she said. Haha. Well it's summer now, so I figured I might as well write a bit before I start summer homework and my summer job and then forget about this shit all over again. Sorry if it's too short, I'm a lazy piece of shit so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Honestly, I probably won't update for the next twenty years. Kisses <3


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